Noah Romsdal Hallundbæk Sørensen
Russian artillery has destroyed another church in the Sumy region, already one of Ukraine’s hardest-hit areas in terms of cultural heritage losses.
Russian forces have destroyed yet another church in Ukraine’s Sumy region.
The building in the village of Ulanove was found in ruins on 25 May during a remote inspection of the area.
The village is now completely abandoned, after constant shelling and the destruction of infrastructure forced all residents to leave.
According to Ukrinform
Artillery Behind the Destruction
According to the head of the Esman community, Serhii Minakov, the damage was caused by an artillery strike.
“Russian troops destroyed a church in the village of Ulanove in the Esman community. The ruins of the church were discovered on May 25 during a remote inspection of the territory. According to preliminary information, Russian forces destroyed it with artillery fire,” the report states.
Ulanove is located in the Esman community close to the Russian border, an area that has been subjected to repeated and intense shelling since the beginning of the invasion.
The fact that no civilians remain in the village speaks to the human cost of the sustained Russian artillery bombardment across the region.
Sumy Among the Worst Affected
The Sumy region is among the six Ukrainian regions that have suffered the greatest losses of cultural heritage sites as a result of the war.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture ranks the region second in the entire country, surpassed only by the Donetsk region, in terms of the number of communities with registered destruction of cultural heritage.
The enemy has damaged or destroyed religious and cultural monuments in 38 communities across the Sumy region.
Among the hardest-hit religious buildings are St. George’s Church in Okhtyrka, St. Nicholas Church in the border town of Velyka Pysarivka, and the nationally listed architectural monument, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the village of Yunakivka.
Churches in the regional capital of Sumy itself have also repeatedly been targeted by Russian drones and artillery, including the city’s oldest stone structure, the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection.
A Pattern of Systematic Destruction
The destruction of the church in Ulanove is not an isolated incident. It forms part of a pattern that Ukrainian authorities and cultural organisations have been documenting since 2022.
Religious buildings that have stood for centuries disappear within minutes when Russian artillery strikes.
The church in Ulanove is now added to a growing list of Ukrainian cultural heritage lost forever. No civilians were present to witness the moment, but the ruins speak for themselves.
