Russian airstrikes bombed the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra, an orthodox Christian monastery in Ukraine leaving several refugees wounded.
The bomb landed near the bridge holding the left and the right banks of the Seversky Donets River. The explosion happened 54 yards away from the entrance of Ukraine's historic monastery in the Donetsk region making the 500 plus refugees, including 200 children left terrified, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security (CSCIS) posted on Facebook and Telegram.
According to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and CSIS, the airstrike caused several people to be wounded and be rushed to a hospital in Svyatogorsk. At that time, there were no military formations on the territory of both the monastery and the city, based on initial reports.
"On the night of March 12-13, all the refugees and brethren were evacuated to the monastery cellars. Currently, there are 520 refugees in the Svyatogorsk Lavra, 200 of them are children. There are about 10,000 refugees and residents in the city of Svyatogorsk," said CSIS on social media.
At the time of the blast, there were as many as 1,000 refugees sheltering in the monastery, according to the governor of Donetsk Oblast, Pavlao Krylenko. He shared on his Facebook page, "As a result, one person was hospitalized to the hospital, two addressed the trauma in Sloviansk on their own; another 30 people with minor injuries were provided on the spot. Damaged infrastructure around the Lavra, damaged private property."
"The occupants [Russians] have crossed all possible limits of common sense and humanity. Should get the proper punishment for their hellish crimes," he added.
The city of Svytogorsk is restoring the electricity being used to heat the monastery, according to the Daily Mail. "The administration of the city of Svyatogorsk will soon be engaged in the restoration of energy supply in the city of Svyatogorsk and in the Lavra, which is vital because the heating of the entire monastery complex depends on electricity," said in the report.
Due to past events targeting civilians, especially refugees, about 100 Christian leaders in the United States, more than 280 priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church, and over 400 ministers of Evangelical Churches in Russia have sent an 'earnest plea' for Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
"We mourn the ordeal to which our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected. The Last Judgment awaits every person." The Russian Orthodox wrote in an open letter.
"No earthly authority, no doctors, no guards will protect from this judgment. Concerned about the salvation of every person who considers himself a child of the Russian Orthodox Church, we do not want him to appear at this judgment, bearing the heavy burden of mother's curses," the clerics added.
Meanwhile, Last Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly confirmed that his forces would not give in. In his statement, "I'm ready for a dialogue but we're not ready for surrender." According to the report, he would be willing not to seek NATO membership, give independent status to contested territories and stop military action in Ukraine.
