A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa early Sunday killed one person, injured almost 20 others, and severely damaged an Orthodox church, Ukrainian officials said, adding that the icon of the city’s patroness had been salvaged from beneath the rubble.
According to Odesa’s military government, the Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, also known as the Transfiguration Cathedral, was seriously damaged.
The Cathedral is the largest church edifice in Odesa and is located in the medieval city center, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The cathedral’s archdeacon, Andriy Palchuk, told Reuters the missile strike had started a fire which only affected one corner of the cathedral containing non-historic religious artifacts for purchase by worshippers.
According to Ukraine’s military ministry, the church has been “destroyed twice” – once by Russian President Vladimir Putin and once by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
The cathedral, erected in the early nineteenth century, was demolished in 1936 as part of Stalin’s anti-religious activities and restored after Ukraine gained independence from Moscow in 1991.
Parts of the structure were demolished, the floors were covered in rubble, and chunks of the magnificent walls of the cathedral were pulled off. Several residents from the neighboring region came to help clean up the rubble.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed strikes on nearby targets but denied hitting the church, saying it was most likely damaged by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.
Russia has attacked Odesa numerous times with missiles and drones since withdrawing from a year-old agreement that allowed for secure grain exports from Black Sea ports on Monday. The ports of Odesa served as the departure point for grain leaving Ukraine under a Turkey-brokered arrangement.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Sunday’s attack and vowed payback.
