Statue of the Mother of God smashed at UGCC chapel in Ternopil region

Broken statue of the Mother of God. Photo: Teodor Dutchak

On May 6, 2026, unknown individuals smashed a statue of the Mother of God at a chapel of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The incident was reported on Facebook by UGCC cleric Teodor Dutchak.

According to him, the attack took place in his native village and was already the second recent act of vandalism directed against statues of the Mother of God.

“This is already the second statue of the Mother of God that I purchased and that was beaten and destroyed, with the rosary torn apart. I do not know whether this is such hatred toward the Mother of God or toward me personally. It is very painful and upsetting. We are living in wartime, yet for some people nothing is sacred. God will judge them,” Dutchak wrote.

As previously reported by the UOJ, unknown vandals in Ternopil painted satanic symbols on the walls of Greek Catholic churches – the number “666” was sprayed on the gates of the Churches of Saints Peter and Paul and of St. John the Theologian. That incident took place in October 2024, and police opened a criminal investigation under hooliganism charges.

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