The forerunner of the Antichrist, or Putin destroyed the last Ukrainian church in Crimea

Exclusive. The Russian occupation authorities began dismantling the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in Yevpatoria, Crimea. Russia hypocritically speculates on the topic of protection of Orthodoxy and at the same time destroys objectionable Orthodox churches in the temporarily occupied territories.

Putin and Gundyaev

"On July 21, 2024, in the city of Evpatoria, the occupying city authorities began the destruction of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine: the occupiers removed the dome, dismantled the upper part of the church. This small wooden temple or church-chapel, as the parishioners called it, was built by the community. It was built according to a typical project of an ancient Western Ukrainian temple - all elements were made by hand, it was "assembled" without the use of nails, staples and other elements that are used in modern conditions. According to the plan, this church in Evpatoria should also become the only museum of ancient Ukrainian icons in Crimea. In 2014, the occupiers seized all the ancient icons in the church. Now it's time to liquidate the temple," — reported Crimean Diocese of OCU.

At the beginning of 2014, the Crimean Diocese of the OCU included 45 parishes, which were served by 14 priests. Now the diocese is on the brink of survival, the occupiers illegally took away or destroyed all the religious structures of the OCU in Crimea - the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Evpatoria was the last.

Putin's Russia consistently pursues a policy of genocide against the Ukrainian national community in the temporarily occupied territories, subjecting the Ukrainian language, culture and church to prohibitions and repressions. The occupiers, confident of their own impunity, engage in persecution based on religious and national affiliation, oppressing the rights of believers.

How to reported the press service of the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, similar actions of the Russian occupiers grossly violate the requirements of Article 147 of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Population in Wartime of 1949, which prohibits the destruction of property not justified by military necessity, as well as Article 56 of the Hague Regulations and customs of the war of 1907, which directly provides for the protection of religious institutions from seizure, destruction or intentional damage. In connection with this, criminal proceedings were initiated under part 1 of article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Breach of laws and customs of war").

Earlier, on June 25, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Endured the decision in the lawsuit "Ukraine against Russia (in Crimea)" and established numerous violations of human rights on the annexed peninsula. In particular, the ECHR ruled that the Russian Federation violated articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), including those related to freedom of religion.

Ukraine filed the first complaint in this case in 2014, additional ones in 2015 and 2018. The Ukrainian government asked the court to recognize Russia as responsible for the violation of human rights guaranteed by the ECHR. In December 2020, the ECHR declared the "Crimean case" admissible for consideration and confirmed that the Russian Federation has been exercising control over the territory of the peninsula since February 27, 2014.

"We have no right to remain silent," Andrei Shchekun, authorized representative of the Crimean Diocese of the OCU, said in connection with the destruction of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Yevpatoria. — We must talk about these crimes on all national and international platforms. We must resist the genocidal war unleashed by Moscow. Ukrainians are recognized as the most discriminated ethnic community, and the state of Ukraine cannot remain silent about this. Because silence and concern do not solve the urgent problem, but only encourage the racist horde to inhumane actions against Ukrainians in Crimea."

The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the city of Sevastopol initiated criminal proceedings on the fact of the illegal destruction of a Ukrainian church. The seizure and seizure of churches, as well as actions aimed at the destruction of church buildings in the occupied Crimea, should be qualified as war crimes in accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. And the perpetrators of these crimes must be punished.

Vera Perovskaya