In Dnipropetrovsk region, the occupiers destroyed a church of the Moscow Patriarchate (photo).

In Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, as a result of Russian shelling, a church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine was destroyed. This was reported by the Information and Educational Department of the UOC MP.

The Russians shelled the church around 10 am during the liturgy. "The shell hit the roof of the church, resulting in a fire. Despite the efforts of firefighters who arrived at the scene, the church roof, dome, and interior decoration were completely destroyed," the report said.

According to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, Serhiy Lysak, Russian troops targeted Nikopol district with heavy artillery and kamikaze drones.

"In the first half of the day, two vehicles were damaged in the district center - a fire engine and a utility vehicle. Artillery shells were also directed at the church. It caught fire. The firefighters put out the fire, but the destruction is significant. The roof and ceilings of the building are destroyed. There are also damages inside. In the evening, the aggressor country's army resumed attacks on Nikopol. Experts are clarifying the consequences of these attacks, as well as the strikes on Marganets, Chervonohryhorivka, and Pokrovske communities," he wrote.

Transition to the OCU

It is reminded that since 2018, 1,502 religious communities have transitioned from the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed bill No. 8371 on the prohibition of religious organizations operating in Ukraine that have a governing center in a state that is carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine.

It is worth noting that Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, reacted hysterically to the ban on the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine that have a governing center in a state that is carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine. In doing so, he once again emphasized the links between the religious organization operating in Ukraine under the brand of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and Russia.