The Russians destroyed another holy place in the Donetsk region: Ukrainian security forces evacuated people

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO – SATURDAY, 21 MAY 2022, 17:37

In the Donetsk region, the Russian occupiers shelled a monastery, and the police evacuated people hiding in the basement of the holy place.

Source: the police of the Donetsk region

Details: As a result of an air strike by Russian troops, a hermitage in honour of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" of the Svyatogorsk Lavra (monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)) has been destroyed in the village of Bogorodichne, Donetsk region.

About 100 clergy, nuns, monks and children had been living and hiding in the basement of the church. Fortunately, no one was injured.

The police, along with the soldiers, border guards and members of the territorial defence managed to persuade those people to move to a safer place.

On 20 May (as police clarified to Ukrainska Pravda), more than 40 women, 20 children and men were evacuated with evacuation vehicles by the police.

They also saved the lives of five people with disabilities, villagers who were unable to get out on their own.

Why this is important: "The Russian occupiers have repeatedly broken the hopes of UOC-MP believers that Russia would not fire on churches. At the same time, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, also known as Vladimir Gundyaev, has been making false statements that "Russia has never attacked anyone."