Russian strike ‘severely damages’ historic Odesa cathedral, leaves one dead

livemint.com:

Odesa again. The attack left their historic cathedral in shambles and one person dead.  Local authorities have informed that twenty two others were wounded in the attack.  According to reports citing Regional Governor Oleh Kiper, four children were wounded in the blast. The strike severely damaged the historic Transfiguration Cathedral, a landmark Orthodox cathedral in the city.

Russia has been launching persistent attacks on Odesa, a key hub for exporting grain, since Moscow canceled a landmark grain deal on Monday amid Kyiv’s grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories. Kiper noted that six residential buildings, including apartment buildings, were destroyed by the strikes. The Transfiguration Cathedral, one of the most important and largest Orthodox Cathedrals in Odesa, was severely damaged.

After the fires were put out, volunteers donned hard hats, shovels and brooms at the cathedral to begin removing rubble, combing through to salvage any church artifacts — under the watchful gaze of the saints whose paintings remained intact. Archdeacon Andrii Palchuk said the damage was caused by a direct hit from a Russian missile that penetrated the building down to the basement and caused significant damage. Two people who were inside at the time of the strike were wounded.

The cathedral belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of links to Russia. The church has insisted that it’s loyal to Ukraine, has denounced the Russian invasion from the start and has even declared its independence from Moscow. But Ukrainian security agencies have claimed that some in the Ukrainian church have maintained close ties with Moscow.