Kremlin claims Ukrainian ‘air defence missiles’ destroyed historic cathedral in Odesa

The Kremlin has dismissed statements saying that the Russian Armed Forces destroyed the historic Transfiguration Cathedral during yesterday’s attack on Odesa as “absolute lies”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian army “never strikes social infrastructure objects, let alone cathedrals, churches, and other such structures”.

Russian attacks on the Odesa region on 23 July damaged numerous historical landmarks, including the Transfiguration Cathedral, local governor Oleh Kiper said yesterday. The Transfiguration Cathedral is the largest Orthodox church in Odesa that is run by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). People were performing round-the-clock prayers in the cathedral when Russia bombed it.

The Russian Defence Ministry denied striking the Transfiguration Cathedral. According to the ministry, “the most likely reason behind the cathedral’s destruction is the crash of a Ukrainian anti-air guided missile due to inept actions of the air-defence system operators, which the Ukrainian army deliberately deploys to residential quarters of settlements”.

The Russian army did, however, claim responsibility for the Odesa strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that about 50 buildings had been damaged in the Russian strikes on Odesa, including the Greek consulate and 25 historical landmarks.