-
Volodimir Zelensky, President of Ukraine. Europa press.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has denounced the attack by Russian forces with artillery shells on the < strong>Sviatogorsk Monastery, a wooden building that was built initially in the 16th century, in the Donetsk region. Four people have died and four more have been seriously injured, although Russia assures that it was the “Ukrainian nationalists” those responsible for the attack.
“The occupants know exactly what they are doing. target they are bombing. They know that there were no military targets at the Sviatogorsk Monastery. They know that there were some 300 people who have fled the hostilities, including 60 children”, Zelensky highlighted in a message posted on his Telegram channel.
Zelensky has reproached Moscow for the destruction of churches and monuments and has therefore stressed that Russia “has no place” at the United Nations Organization for Science and Culture (UNESCO).
The Ukrainian president has recalled that Russia has destroyed more than 370 monuments, half of them churches. “No country has destroyed so many monuments and cultural and social sites in Europe since World War II. Every church burned by the Russians in the Ukraine, every school blown up, every monument destroyed shows that Russia has no place in UNESCO. what? What about a barbaric state, a terrorist state?”, he indicated.
“We expect a logical and fair response from the UN and UNESCO. The UN Charter does not allow alliances with terrorists. The isolation of Russia must be total. He must pay for his crimes”, the Ukrainian president has pointed out.
Zelensky has recalled that the Ukrainian Parliament requested On May 31, UNESCO was forced to expel Russia from the organization and Ukrainian diplomacy continues to work in this direction.
Russian Version
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense has assured that it has been the “Ukrainian nationalists” those who set fire to the monastery during their retreat from the city of Sviatogorsk.
Specifically, he claims that the Ukrainians fired incendiary ammunition from a large-caliber machine gun mounted on a Kozak armored SUV. In addition, he has highlighted that the Russian units present north of Sviatogorsk are not carrying out combat operations and are not shelling the monuments in the area.
The monastery was rebuilt after the damage suffered during the Soviet era. The first written mention of the monument dates back to 1526.