Zelensky: Russia killed our priests for refusing to serve Kirill

Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Screenshot from the CBN YouTube Channel

In an interview with the American channel CBN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia intentionally destroyed Ukrainian churches and tortured and executed priests for refusing to serve Patriarch Kirill.

According to Zelensky, the Russian army "destroyed schools and churches everywhere on Ukrainian territory, simply to leave no trace behind."

He claimed that Russia killed 50 priests and destroyed 700 churches. Moreover, he noted that the priests "were killed in various ways."

"There is clear evidence of how they tortured them," Zelensky said. "Why were they tortured? Simply because they were supposed to serve Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow, and his Church."

"These priests just refused. And for that, they were executed. They simply tried to break people, but they couldn’t break the spirit of certain individuals, so they just killed 50 priests," the President stated, without specifying the denomination of the murdered clergy.

He is also convinced that the Russian army deliberately destroyed churches in Ukrainian territory.

"What did they gain by destroying about 700 churches? They attacked them with bombs and missiles. Wherever they entered our state’s territory, they simply destroyed and burned these churches. What did they gain from that?" Zelensky asked his interviewer.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to statistics from the portal "Christians Against War", as of mid-2024, 30 priests of the UOC had been killed in the fighting, and 5 more were missing.

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