- The main temple of the Sviatohirsk Lavra is on fire after a Russian attack in Donetsk Oblast, a Ukrainian adviser said.
- A video of the temple, a monastery on the Seversky Donets River, engulfed in flames circulated on Saturday.
- Local reports said no casualties had been reported yet, citing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Part of the Sviatohirsk Lavra is on fire after a Russian attack in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, a top Ukrainian adviser said on Saturday.
"The main temple of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, a shrine of the Orthodox world that has become a shelter for the refugees is on fire after (Russian) attack," said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A video of the temple, an Orthodox Christian monastery on the Seversky Donets River, engulfed in flames circulated on Saturday.
—Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) June 4, 2022
"A real devilish grin of the 'Russian barbaric world', for which nothing is sacred," Podolyak added in a tweet. "(Ukraine) will drive the devil back behind the Iron Curtain."
President Zelenskyy shared the same video of the fire in his Telegram channel.
"Russian artillery struck the Svyatogorsk Lavra in the Donetsk region again today. Destroyed All Saints Monastery. It was consecrated in 1912. It was first destroyed during the Soviet era. Later it was rebuilt. And so it was burned by the Russian army," Zelenskyy said.
On June 1, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said two monks and a nun were killed amid Russian shelling in Svyatogorsk Lavra, Al Jazeera reported.
"The occupiers know exactly which object is being shelled. They know that there are no military targets on the territory of the Svyatogorsk Lavra. It is known that there are about 300 lay people fleeing hostilities, including 60 children," Zelenskyy said. "They do not care what to turn into ruins."
Ukrainian news organization Hromadske Int. confirmed the blaze in a tweet and said no casualties had been reported yet, citing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a Ukrainian army officer.