KAB-500 and KAB-250 bombs devastate city — Church destroyed VIDEO

Russian forces attacked the city using bombs and drones. Among the dozens of damaged civilian buildings was the Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist.

Regional police said the attack involved KAB-500 and KAB-250 guided bombs. The strikes damaged around 70 civilian structures, including 10 apartment buildings, 54 private homes, a bank branch, a store and several vehicles.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) said that the Church of St. John the Baptist suffered significant damage, with its walls, roof and dome affected. “The blast wave distorted the building’s metal structure, and the entire area was covered with debris,” the UOC said in a statement.

Russians dropped a bomb on the church

The attack on Kramatorsk occurred amid the ongoing destruction of Ukraine’s religious and cultural heritage during Russia’s invasion. Earlier in August—specifically on August 2—a Russian drone strike destroyed the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Vvedenska Church) in Beryslav, in the Kherson region.

The attack reduced to ruins a nearly 300-year-old wooden church that had been protected as an architectural monument.

Built in 1726, the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was one of the few surviving religious heritage sites in the liberated part of the Kherson region.

Although Russian attacks had been frequent since Ukrainian forces regained control of the right bank of the Dnipro River in late 2022, the historic church had previously avoided major damage.

The Russian invasion is estimated to have caused $4.65 billion in direct damage to Ukraine’s cultural sector so far. Indirect losses are estimated at approximately $24 billion.