Media show abandoned churches in Lviv region falling into ruin
Church of Saint Magdalene in the village of Volkiv, Lviv region. Photo: Screenshot from Taras Havryk's video
Ukrainian media and social networks have published footage of abandoned churches in Lviv region that are deteriorating due to the lack of state care. The author of the video, blogger Taras Havryk, posted a report on his YouTube channel on January 25, 2026.
The video shows religious buildings in an emergency condition – with collapsed roofs, crumbling masonry, ruined ceilings, and the visible traces of long years of neglect. The author stresses that this is not a handful of isolated cases, but a large-scale problem – the loss of sacred heritage.
“This is not mysticism and not legends – it is documentary evidence of what is happening to Ukraine’s cultural and spiritual heritage,” the video description says.
According to the author, filming took place in the villages of Rakivka, Pidtemne, Kuhayiv, Volkiv, Vybranivka, Sokolivka, and other localities in Lviv region. The camera captured abandoned Roman Catholic churches, chapels, fortified churches, as well as relics and elements of interior decoration that may disappear in the coming years.
Although the video is devoted to Lviv region, a similar situation is typical of other regions of the country as well. Many of the churches shown have the status of architectural monuments, yet in practice they are left without restoration, security, or sustained attention. The blogger calls on his followers to share information about abandoned shrines not only in Lviv region, but in other parts of Ukraine as well.
As the UOJ previously reported, the Lviv Regional Military Administration has been unable to find sponsors for the restoration of the synagogue in Brody.
Read also
Sand for construction of Yermak’s residence brought from cemetery, MP says
MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that sand illegally removed from a cemetery in Ukrainka was used in the construction of the elite Dynasty cooperative in Kozyn.
Italian court recognizes family with three parents as legal
In Bari, the appellate court ordered authorities to register an adoption according to which a child is listed as having two "fathers" and one mother.
Archaeologists discover biblical Bethsaida on shore of Sea of Galilee
Researchers have discovered a first-century residential house beneath the apse of a Byzantine church and a mosaic inscription mentioning the Apostle Peter.
Israeli soldiers receive jail terms for mocking statue of the Virgin Mary
Those involved in the act of sacrilege in the village of Debel will spend several weeks behind bars for desecrating a statue of the Mother of God.
Serbian Church officially receives back land of 15th-century monastery
An agreement was signed in Belgrade transferring the territory of the ancient Vojlovica Monastery to the Banat Eparchy.
Pat Daniel comments on conflict between Phanar bishop and community in Turkey
The Bulgarian Primate believes that the hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate should not have forced the Bulgarian community in Edirne to serve in Greek.