several churches in Ukraine came under fire

The majority of Orthodox Christians in the world celebrate Easter on April 16 – one of the most important Christian holidays. Easter services were held in the churches of Russia and Ukraine. This is already the second Easter after the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

There were no proposals for an Easter truce. Both sides of the conflict report shelling on the night of Sunday and on the Sunday holiday.

The city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine was subjected to artillery fire – this was reported by the head of the regional administration, Sergey Lysak. At the same time, the city church was also damaged, and two people were wounded. “The Russians have once again confirmed that they have nothing sacred,” Lysak wrote in a telegram.

The head of the Zaporozhye regional administration, Yury Malashko, reported the shelling of a church in the village of Kamyshevakha. There was no service in it during the shelling, and there were no casualties. It is also reported about an airstrike on a psychoneurological boarding school in the Sumy region – one woman was injured.

In the Nikolaev region, two teenagers born in 2005 died as a result of shelling. This was reported by the head of the region Vitaly Kim. According to him, residential buildings, a hospital and the House of Culture in Snygiryovka were hit by shelling. The Russian military does not comment on all these messages.

Representatives of the Russian-appointed authorities of Donetsk, in turn, declare that the city was shelled on Sunday night. It is confirmed that fragments of rockets fell not far from the Cathedral of the Savior and Transfiguration, and a woman died as a result of the shelling.

• Easter services were held in the churches of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which, as the Ukrainian authorities claim, has not completely broken with the Moscow Patriarchate. Both churches held services on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra – in different churches. By March 29, the UOC monastery was supposed to leave the Lavra by order of the authorities, but this did not happen. However, the authorities did not prevent this church from worshiping on the territory of the Lavra.
• The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, recorded his video address on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. He noted that the main symbol of Easter is the victory of truth, goodness and life, and Ukrainians are now fighting for this victory.
• Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, led the Easter service in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Russian President Vladimir Putin came to the service. In his address, Kirill called the war in Ukraine “an internecine conflict” and said that he would pray for a “just peace” between “fraternal nations.” He also said again that he considers “Russia” to be the territory of both Russia and Ukraine.
• During his address to Christians celebrating Easter on April 16, Pope Francis prayed for peace between Ukraine and Russia. The head of the Catholic Church said that today he remembers “our brothers and sisters in Russia and Ukraine” and called for “the Lord to be with them and help them achieve peace.” He called for sorrow over the wars that continue around the world and prays for the victims of violent death at the hands of man.