A nearly 300-year-old wooden church in southern Ukraine has been destroyed after being struck by a Russian drone, according to local officials.
The Holy Vvedenska Church in Beryslav, in the Kherson region, caught fire after the attack on 2nd August, leaving one of Ukraine's oldest surviving wooden churches in ruins, local news outlet Most reported.
The church, which dated back to 1726, was listed as a protected national monument and was regarded as a rare example of Zaporizhian ecclesiastical architecture. Built entirely from oak using wooden pegs rather than metal nails, it had survived centuries of upheaval and was one of the few historic religious buildings in the liberated parts of the Kherson region to have escaped major damage during Russia's full-scale invasion.
Originally constructed by Poltava Cossacks, the church was dismantled in 1785 and transported along the Dnipro River before being rebuilt in what is now Beryslav. It was later moved to the town's Vvedenske Cemetery, where it was rededicated.
During the Soviet era, the church was closed and converted into a storage facility, with reports that authorities even considered dismantling it for firewood. Worship resumed during the Second World War and the building has since remained under the Novokakhovka diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church linked to the Moscow Patriarchate.
According to Most, local officials appealed in 2023 for the church to be returned to state ownership because of its historic significance, but no decision was made.
The destruction of Holy Vvedenska Church comes amid continuing concern over damage to Ukraine's religious and cultural heritage since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Ukraine's Ministry of Culture says more than 1,700 cultural heritage sites and 2,500 cultural infrastructure facilities have been damaged during the war, with more than 500 destroyed.
Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna said: "Russia is purposefully destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage and attacking civilians. We document every such crime. Cultural heritage cannot be a target."
