Holy Dormition Monastery set on fire in Odessa (UPDATED)

A fire at the Holy Dormition Monastery. Photo: a video screenshot on the Facebook page of the Odessa Eparchy

On the night of April 24, 2020, on the eve of the feast day, a fire broke out at the Holy Dormition Monastery of the UOC in Odessa, as reported on the Facebook page of the Odessa Eparchy.

The parishioners who stood outside the gate before the fire started heard an explosion. Several witnesses saw a suspicious man who ran down the lane from the monastery with a bag or a packet.

The fire broke out in several places at once. According to one version, at first several cars that were located near the monastic buildings caught fire. Luckily, they were put out. According to eyewitnesses, if the cars exploded, many people would die. Several different witnesses testify to the fact that it was a deliberate arson.

The woodshed caught fire. The fire was approaching the place where the fuel tanks are stored.

The first fire brigades quickly arrived at the monastery.

The barn completely burned down; firefighters failed to extinguish the woodshed.

2:33 - No victims; representatives of the eparchy show one of the places of arson with fragments of Molotov cocktails; the investigative-operational group has not yet arrived.

2:37 - According to the witness, the fire covers more than 1,500 square meters.

2:46 - There is information about one victim; it turned out to be the 46-year-old monk of the monastery, Archimandrite Vladimir (Yakimenko), who helped to put out the fire and broke his leg; he was hospitalized, with no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.

3:02 - The investigative-operational group of the National Police of Ukraine arrives, a survey of witnesses and an examination of the scene begins.

3:30 – A canine unit arrives at the scene.

Around 4:00 – The fire is localized.

On April 15, 2020, an old wooden St. Paraskeva of Serbia Church caught fire in the Chernivtsi-Bukovina Eparchy, the main version of the fire is arson.

On April 21, 2020, a fire broke out on the territory of the Gamalievka Convent of the Holy Martyr Charalampus (UOC) in the Shostka district, the Sumy region.

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