All Saints church in Sviatohirsk destroyed after Russian shelling, Zelensky

• Ukraine has appealed to UNESCO to “deprive Russia” of membership in the organization.
• Zelensky: “Occupiers know exactly which object is being shelled,” he says.
• The original temple dates back to 1526, according to the official website for the church.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian artillery has “destroyed” the All Saints church in Sviatohirsk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.

“It was first destroyed during the Soviet era,” Zelensky said in a Facebook post. “Later it was rebuilt. And so it was burned by the Russian army.”

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“The occupiers know exactly which object is being shelled,” he said. “They do not care what to turn into ruins.”

Ukraine has been appealing to UNESCO to “deprive Russia of membership in the organization” because it has “destroyed so many monuments, cultural and social sites in Europe since World War II.”

“We expect a logical and fair response from the UN and UNESCO,” Zelensky said. “It is the United Nations, and its charter does not provide for association with terrorists. Russia’s isolation must be complete, it must be held accountable for its crimes.”

The original temple dates back to 1526, according to the official website for the church.

In a separate statement, the Donetsk diocese said the bigger temple was rebuilt in 2005, using the traditions of Russian wooden architecture of the 16th to 17th centuries.

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