On the eve of Trinity Sunday, Russians burned down a church in the Donetsk region – video

On the eve of Trinity Sunday, Russian occupation forces completely destroyed the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God, located in the village of Zakytne in the Donetsk region. To destroy the religious building, the invaders dropped ammunition containing an incendiary mixture onto the church roof—a type of weapon the enemy typically uses to burn down wooden fortifications and dugouts. 

This was reported on social media by the 81st Separate Slobozhansky Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Airborne Assault Troops.

The brigade’s chaplain, Father Yaroslav, who had personally conducted services in this church prior to the full-scale invasion, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the sacred site. The priest noted that he had hoped until the very end that the building would be preserved until the village’s final liberation by Ukrainian defenders. Unfortunately, the historical fate of this church has repeated itself, as during the Soviet era, the first church building in Zakytne was already destroyed by the communists during a brutal anti-religious campaign in the 1930s.

The modern wooden church destroyed by the Russians was relatively new—it was designed and built through the efforts of the local community in 2009–2010. This act of destruction served as yet another confirmation that Russian invaders are deliberately destroying Ukraine’s cultural and spiritual heritage along the front lines, disregarding major religious holidays and international humanitarian law.