The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns the illegal dismantling of the OCU church in occupied Yevpatoria. The dome of the Holy Cross Church was reportedly removed and the upper part of the church was dismantled, the Mission said on Monday, UNN reports.
Details
"The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns the absolutely illegal actions of the so-called "law enforcement agencies" controlled by the occupation administration of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied Crimea to dismantle the Holy Cross Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Yevpatoriya on July 21," the statement reads.
According to the report, the dome has already been removed from the church and the upper part of the church has been dismantled. At the same time, according to available information, the Russian security forces are actively assisted by a local resident, Andriy Skryapin, who is the commandant of the dormitory on Internationalnaya Street, where the church is located, the representative office said.
The struggle of the parish in the name of the Most Holy Image of the Mother of God "Burning Bush" in Yevpatoria and the Administration of the Crimean Diocese of the OCU for the church has been going on since the beginning of the occupation of the peninsula. Earlier it became known that the occupation administration applied to the "court" for permission to demolish the church.
"We call on the international community and the world religious community to condemn the criminal persecution of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the occupied Crimea and the illegal destruction of its churches and to respond to the next violations of the same rights, which have already been ruled illegal by the ECHR in the case of Ukraine v. Russia (concerning Crimea)," the representative office said.