Russians destroy ancient wooden church in Andriivka – photos
Pravda Ukraine
Russian attacks destroyed a local architectural monument – the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the occupied village of Andriivka, Volnovakha district, Donetsk Oblast.
Source: Donetsk Oblast State Administration; Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia
Quote: “The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which has been a spiritual centre for centuries, was destroyed by a Russian attack in February 2025. This is not only the loss of a religious building, but also another proof of the deliberate destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage.”
A total of 164 cultural heritage sites had been destroyed or damaged in Donetsk Oblast as of January 2025. The most affected were the monuments of the Mariupol, Sviatohirsk and Bakhmut hromadas, which are included in the List of Historical Places of Ukraine. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town along with their adjacent territories – ed.]
For reference: The first mention of the church in Andriivka dates back to 1793. This makes it one of the oldest wooden churches in eastern Ukraine.
The first church on this site was consecrated in 1795, and in 1886, it was replaced by a new building with a bell tower.
One of the features of the church was the ceramic terracotta tiles made at the famous Dzewulski and Lange ceramic factory in Sloviansk.
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