The occupiers have seized a unique OCU church in Mariupol

Russian invaders seized the Church of St. Peter (Mogila) in Mariupol, looted it, and transferred it to the local parish of the Russian Orthodox Church for use free of charge. This was reported by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The church was unique: in 2020, it was entered into the Ukrainian Book of Records as the only church in the world entirely decorated on the outside with Petrykivka-style murals. 

 It housed free art schools, language courses, and the Vasyl Stus Library.

After the occupation of Mariupol, the Russians seized and burned the library and valuable Ukrainian artifacts, and damaged and appropriated the building itself. In 2024, a commission of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to alter the church’s exterior decoration, claiming it did not meet ecclesiastical requirements. The church was also renamed the Church of Saint Spyridon of Trimythous.

On November 5, 2026, the occupation administration decided to transfer the 550-square-meter church building and the adjacent 1,411-square-meter plot of land to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Source: Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Ukraine, together with Switzerland, has agreed to begin priority restoration work on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra following the Russian attack. The focus is now on the Cathedral of the Dormition, which sustained damage and requires urgent protection from further destruction.

As a reminder, Russia attacked the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, causing a fire.

The Russian Federation’s massive combined strike on Ukraine on the night of June 15—during which a missile strike on the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was recorded—was intended to have not only a military impact but also a significant psychological effect.