A priest in Odesa, the third most populous city in Ukraine and one of the main territories disputed by Russia since it began its offensive in February 2022, has narrowly avoided his church collapsing on him.
The Holy Presentation Church’s CCTV footage shows how the roof collapses just seconds after the priest has walked underneath it. It is understood the damage was caused by a Russian missile hitting the building.
“Lord have mercy,” the church posted on Facebook afterwards with pictures of the damage. “Thank God no one was hurt.”
❗🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 - The moment an Orthodox Christian church in Ukraine was hit and damaged during the massive Russian attack launched today against Ukrainian cities.
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformantofc) December 29, 2023
There were 122 missiles and dozens of drones that spread great destruction in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/HH3LH3R0th
The offensive between the two countries has intensified in the last few days. On Friday, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Kharkiv saw fresh Russian airstrikes wounding at least 20 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Russian has accused Kyiv of shelling the Russian border city of Belgorod, saying at least 21 people were killed and more than 110 injured.
In his last New Year Eve address, the Pope asked people to pray for the "martyred" people of Ukraine, Palestinians, Israelis and the people of Sudan.
"Let us not forget the martyred Rohingya," he added.