Russians destroy Ukrainian cathedral in Sevastopol: Zelensky reacts
Kyiv • UNN
In the occupied Crimea, Russians dismantled the dome of the Cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea called it another step in the systematic destruction of religious freedom on the peninsula.
In the occupied Crimea, Russians dismantled the dome of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga. The Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea calls this the destruction of freedom of religion, reports UNN.
Details
The Mission condemns the latest illegal steps of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea aimed at destroying freedom of religion, in particular against the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
It is noted that on April 8, in the occupied Simferopol, the dome of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga was dismantled by the decision of the occupation administration.
The Mission emphasizes that the Russians are systematically destroying everything Ukrainian in the occupied Crimea and constantly persecuting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Thus, Moscow wants only religious structures loyal to the Kremlin, including the Russian Orthodox Church, to remain in the occupied territory.
The Mission emphasizes that the destruction of the center of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Crimea and the consistent persecution of Ukrainian citizens on the territory of the occupied peninsula on religious and ethnic grounds are a violation of international law
Addendum
The Mission said that since the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea in 2014, the administrative, judicial and forceful pressure of the Russian occupation administration on the Crimean Diocese of the OCU has been ongoing to stop its activities on the peninsula.
The pressure on the Crimean Diocese of the OCU resulted in a sharp decrease in its parishes and priests. Before the occupation began, there were 49 religious communities in Crimea (parishes, missions, fraternities, monasteries), and by the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, there were only 7.
After the start of the full-scale invasion and the announcement of Putin's mobilization, Russia began to persecute OCU clergy in Crimea and illegally issue summonses to them, forcing them to leave the territory of the occupied Crimea.
Metropolitan Klyment stated that the Crimean Diocese, in the context of first the illegal occupation of Crimea and then the full-scale war unleashed by Russia, essentially ceased to exist. Already in May 2023, the occupiers seized the Cathedral of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga in Simferopol.
The Mission called on the international community and the world religious community to react and condemn the criminal persecution of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the occupied Crimea and the destruction of its main church.
Recall
The head of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Igor Ponochovny, said that the total term of imprisonment of all prisoners convicted by Russia on fake charges in the occupied Crimea is 1230 years.
