Russian gunfire hit an early 17th century Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in war-torn eastern Ukraine on Saturday, engulfing its main church in flames, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied any involvement, accusing Ukrainian troops of torching the All Saints Monastery before retreating.
The Svyatohirsk Lavra monastery complex belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church and is located near Russian positions in eastern Donetsk, one of two locations targeted by the Kremlin.
In footage shared to Zelenskiy's official Telegram account, flames could be seen burning through the timber walls of a church with onion domes. The validity of the footage could not be verified immediately by Reuters.
"Russian artillery struck the Svyatohirsk Lavra in the Donetsk region again today. Destroyed All Saints Monastery. It was consecrated in 1912. It was first destroyed during the Soviet era. Later it was rebuilt to be burned by the Russian army," the Ukrainian leader wrote.
Zelenskiy demanded that Russia be kicked out of the United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO, and claimed that there were no military targets at the site.
"Every church that Russia has burned in Ukraine, every school that has been bombed, and every memorial that has been destroyed indicates that Russia has no place in UNESCO."
On June 1, shelling at the site killed two monks and a nun. Russia denies that civilians are being targeted. It calls its operations in Ukraine a "special military operation."
The monastic settlement of Svyatohirsk Lavra dates from 1627. In 2009, the All Saints Monastery was rebuilt from wood to replace the one that was destroyed in 1947.
The Moscow Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which had remained loyal to Moscow following a rift in 2019, said last month that it would break with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
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