Russian artillery hits monastery in Ukraine’s east, says Zelenskiy

(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated Russian artillery hit an early seventeenth century Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in war-torn jap Ukraine on Saturday, engulfing a church in flames.

Russia’s Defence Ministry denied involvement, accusing Ukrainian troops of setting hearth to the All Saints church earlier than pulling again.

The Svyatohirsk Lavra monastery advanced belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and lies close to Russian positions in jap Donetsk, one in all two areas that the Kremlin is concentrated on capturing.

Flames might be seen ripping by means of the timber partitions of a church with onion domes in footage posted by Zelenskiy on his official Telegram channel. Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm the authenticity of the footage.

“Russian artillery struck the Svyatohirsk Lavra within the Donetsk area once more at the moment. Destroyed All Saints Monastery. It was consecrated in 1912. It was first destroyed through the Soviet period. Later it was rebuilt to be burned by the Russian military,” the Ukrainian chief wrote.

Zelenskiy known as for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations’ cultural company UNESCO and stated there had been no navy targets current on the web site.

“Each church burned by Russia in Ukraine, each college blown up, each destroyed memorial proves that Russia has no place in UNESCO.”

Two monks and a nun had been killed on the web site in shelling on June 1.

Russia denies concentrating on civilians. It describes its actions in Ukraine as a particular navy operation.

The Svyatohirsk Lavra monastic settlement dates again to 1627. The All Saints church was constructed from timber in 2009 to exchange the one destroyed in 1947.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which remained loyal to Moscow after a 2019 schism, stated final month that it might break with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Enhancing by Tom Balmforth and Ros Russell)