Ukraine reported that since the start of the Russian attacks 59 places of worship have been damaged

Ukrainian authorities reported that the Russian attacks have already affected a total of 59 places of worship since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February.

The damage is focused on buildings of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which depends on Moscow and which has a special presence in the east of the country, according to the list published by the State Service for the Policy of Nationality and Freedom of Conscience.

The agency has included damage to a Catholic church, five Protestant churches, three mosques and three synagogues, in addition to the damage suffered by the Drobitsky Yar, a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust located in Kharkiv.

The monument, a seven-armed Jewish candlestick or menorah, has been hit by a Russian howitzer, according to the news portal KharkivToday on Saturday. Two of the seven arms of the monument have been damaged.

The memorial is reminiscent of the 6,000 to 20,000 Jews and Soviet prisoners killed on the outskirts of Kharkov during the Nazi occupation (1941-42).

Meanwhile, nearly 1,100 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 1,754 have been injured since the beginning of the invasion, according to the latest update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, released this Saturday.

“From 4 a.m. on 24 February, when the armed attack by the Russian Federation began on Ukraine, until 00 a.m. on 25 March, the High Commissioner has recorded 1,104 deaths and 1,754 injuries”, according to the report.

The deceased have been identified as 221 men, 167 women, 30 boys and 15 girls, as well as 51 boys and 1,288 adults pending identification. The injured have been identified as 194 men, 148 women, 30 girls and 24 boys, as well as 70 children and 1,288 adults pending identification.

By areas of control, the United Nations estimates 1,045 dead and 1,527 injured in territory still controlled by the Ukrainian Government, counting 295 dead and 681 injured in areas under its control of the disputed Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the east of the country. In the area under the control of the militias of these self-proclaimed republics, the UN has recorded 286 casualties (59 dead and 227 wounded).

The United Nations points out that most civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a “wide area of impact”, through heavy artillery, the use of rocket platforms, as well as air strikes.

The UN notes that the real figures “are considerably higher, especially in government-controlled territory and especially in recent days”, because there is a lack of information on some places where intense hostilities have taken place and many details of the casualties “are still pending corroboration.”

The United Nations also “takes note” of the report of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, according to which as of 0800 (local time) on 26 March, 136 children had been killed and 199 injured.

With information from EuropaPress

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