Adventist churches in Ukraine damaged during weekend shelling and airstrike

Friday at 11:30 PM

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Photo: Oleh Larionov

During the weekend of October 17 to 19, at least three Seventh-day Adventist churches were damaged by bombing in Ukraine.

The Irpin Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Kyiv region of Ukraine was damaged during a 6am airstrike on October 19. The Kyiv Regional Military Administration has reported 17 people were injured, and one woman was killed during the attacks.

Damages to the church include broken windows and window frames and cracks in the walls.

Members of the local Baptist and Pentecostal Church assisted the Irpin Adventist Church in cleaning and clearing debris. City authorities provided special equipment to remove building debris and broken glass.

The Izium Seventh-day Adventist Church building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region was destroyed during shelling on the night of October 18. The Main Directorate of the National Police said three people were injured.

Church leaders said a significant part of the walls and roof collapsed, though the front facade survived.

The Adventist community in Izium was founded in 1947 and purchased the building in 2006.

Church in Iziuma damages. Photo: Oleh Larionov

A day earlier, the Khersonu Seventh-day Adventist Church building was damaged in an airstrike on the morning of October 17. The Khersonu Regional Military Administration said eight bombs were dropped over the course of an hour, injuring 22 people. An emergency medical driver was killed in the second strike, the administration said.

Church leaders said many of the church’s windows were broken and its frames and doors were partially damaged.

The building had remained in use until the strike. It previously housed the Adventist DieSlovo Secondary School, which moved online for student safety.