Two UOC churches damaged by Russian shelling in Kryvyi Rih

Church of the Ascension in Kryvyi Rih. Photo: Kryvyi Rih Eparchy

On July 23, 2025, two churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kryvyi Rih were damaged during a nighttime drone attack by Russian forces, according to the press service of the Kryvyi Rih Eparchy of the UOC.

The Church of the Ascension of the Lord and the Church of St. John Climacus sustained damage.

At the Church of the Ascension, windows were shattered, the dome was damaged, both the interior and exterior were affected, and a chandelier fell from the ceiling.

This church is one of the oldest in the Kryvyi Rih region, built in 1876. During the godless years of Soviet persecution, it was the only church in the city to survive. It is also renowned as the place where the miraculous Turkiv Icon of the Mother of God – the chief shrine of Kryvyi Rih – was rediscovered after half a century of obscurity.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ascension parish has been active in volunteer work, offering aid and support to those affected by the war.

Also during the night, the Church of St. John Climacus was damaged: a shockwave shattered one of its windows, and mechanisms on the windows of the refectory as well as the basement door were harmed.

“By God’s mercy, no people were injured,” the statement reads.

As previously reported by the UOJ, a parishioner of the Exaltation of the Cross Church in Nikopol was killed in a Russian shelling.

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