“Even if you destroy all our Ukrainian churches and cathedrals, you will never be able to destroy our profound faith in Ukraine and God,” said Ukrainian President V. Zelensky in his speech of March 3.
Russian artillery fire and bombs have devastated not only Ukrainian homes and public buildings, but also many places of religious worship.
1 Kharkiv – Cathedral of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (and other churches)
The Ukrainian President referred directly to the destruction of the historic Kharkiv Cathedral, completed in 1770. A missile hit the church, a haven for refugees, on the evening of March 2. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the explosion.
The cathedral, which belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, had been destroyed earlier, too. In 1930, the communists desecrated and devastated the cathedral and took control of it. The building was restored to religious use only in 2009.