Nearly 500 churches and other religious buildings have been destroyed during the first year of the Ukraine war.
The Ukrainian Institute for Religious Freedom has revealed that theological institutions and sacred places have also been damaged, looted or destroyed.
The number of religious buildings damaged has more than doubled in the past six months.
At least 120 places of worship, including mosques and synagogues, were destroyed in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
That’s where some of the heaviest fighting has taken place.
The metropolitan areas of the two biggest cities Kyiv and Kharkiv suffered even bigger losses of churches and other faith-related buildings..
The Institute said the destruction of Evangelical churches and prayer houses has been “immense” with at least 170 buildings damaged.
They included 75 Pentecostal churches and 50 Baptist churches.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church which formally cut ties with Russia has lost more than 140 buildings.
On many occasions, members of the looted churches returned to the ruins to find the burnt remains of Ukrainian Bibles, tracts and religious books.
