Historic UOC church in Beryslav burns down in drone strike
A wooden church built in 1726 burned down after a drone strike in the Kherson region.
On August 2, 2026, in Beryslav, Kherson region, the ancient Presentation of the Virgin temple of the UOC was completely destroyed by fire following a drone strike. This was reported by «Most».
The fire destroyed a unique architectural monument of national significance in the Novokakhov Diocese of the UOC. The wooden church was built from oak in 1726 without the use of metal nails.
The building was a rare example of Zaporozhian ecclesiastical architecture and belonged to the Middle Dnieper architectural school. Until that day, the temple had remained virtually the only one in the de-occupied part of the region that had not been damaged by shelling.
Historically, the shrine was located in the village of Pereволочна in Poltava Governorate, from where in 1785 Cossacks transported it on rafts along the Dnipro to the Kyzikermen fortress. The temple was initially erected in the center of Beryslav and consecrated in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. In 1853, the church was moved to the Presentation Cemetery and reconsecrated in honor of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Temple.
During the Soviet era, the authorities converted the temple into a warehouse, and religious life within it was only revived during World War II. Earlier in 2025, a photograph of this temple was recognized as one of the best works at the international photo competition "Wiki Loves Monuments."
As the UOJ reported, several UOC temples were damaged in the Ovruch Diocese due to Russian shelling.
