Prosecutors: Russian attacks damage nearly 2,000 churches and heritage sites

Ruins of a UOC church in Semenivka. Photo: National Police of Ukraine

On August 18, 2026, Ukrainian prosecutors reported extensive damage to churches and other cultural heritage sites as a result of Russian actions. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine published the figures on Telegram.

A total of 1,990 cultural heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed. Law enforcement agencies are investigating the destruction of religious and historical sites, as well as the destruction and removal of cultural property from temporarily occupied territories. Eleven members of the Russian armed forces have been notified of suspicion in connection with such cases.

A separate investigation concerns occupied Crimea, where Russian archaeologists conducted excavations without Ukraine’s authorization at the medieval site of Solkhat. The work partially destroyed a cultural layer dating from the 13th–14th centuries.

Archaeological artifacts were removed during the excavations, some of which were later transferred to the State Hermitage Museum and incorporated into the Russian museum collection. Two people involved in the work have been notified of suspicion of committing war crimes.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Russian shelling had damaged the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God in Stanislav, Kherson region.

Read also