SEFC: War affects 205 religious buildings in 14 regions of Ukraine

From 24 February to 23 August 2022, at least 205 religious buildings in 14 regions of Ukraine were completely destroyed or subjected to varying degrees of destruction, reports the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SEFC). Churches, mosques, synagogues, educational and administrative buildings of Ukraine's religious communities need restoration.

According to the SEFC, 5 out of 205 damaged religious buildings are Muslim, 5 structures are Judaic and the remaining 195 structures are Christian.

Of the 195 damaged Christian buildings 68% (132 objects) belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 29 Christian churches and buildings belong to Protestant communities, 20 – to the OCU, 4 – to the RCC, 3 – to the UGCC and 7 buildings belong to the Jehovah's Witnesses community.

The most destroyed religious buildings are located in Luhansk (56) and Donetsk (48) regions, followed by Kyiv (34) and Kharkiv (25) regions.

An interactive map has been drawn up based on the results of the monitoring conducted by the SEFC in cooperation with the Workshop for Academic Study of Religion. 

As earlier reported, according to the SEFC, as of the end of July 2022, 183 churches were damaged in Ukraine.

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