<p>A wooden church on one of Ukraine's most sacred Orthodox sites was destroyed by Russian bombing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, after a previous attack "killed four monks".</p>.<p>"Russian artillery again hit" the All Saints Skete of the Holy Dormition Sviatogirsk Lavra, Zelenskyy said on Telegram with a video showing the church in eastern Ukraine ablaze.</p>.<p>He said previous bombardment this week by Russian forces "killed four monks and severely wounded four others" at Sviatogirsk Lavra.</p>.<p>The Ukrainian leader said 300 civilians including 60 children had sought shelter from bombs at the church amid fierce fighting in the Donbas.</p>.<p>Plumes of black smoke and flames rose from the onion-shaped domes of a church structure in an unattributed picture shared on social media by Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko.</p>.<p>The church was "destroyed for the first time in the Soviet era. Afterwards, it was rebuilt. And now it has been set ablaze by the Russian army," Zelenskyy said.</p>.<p>He also called for "barbaric" Russia to be kicked out of UN cultural agency UNESCO.</p>.<p>The Moscow branch of Ukraine's Orthodox church, which manages the monastery, said earlier the fire broke out "as a result of hostilities".</p>.<p>"The flames completely engulfed the main church of the monastery," it added.</p>.<p>There was no immediate information on the victims, said the church, which recently decided to break with Russia.</p>.<p>Recent battles between Russia and Ukraine have centred on the eastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions after Moscow failed to capture the capital Kyiv early in the invasion.</p>.<p>The Russian defence ministry said its units deployed north of Sviatogirsk were "not fighting" in the area and accused Ukrainian troops of "setting fire" to the site.</p>.<p>The facility is seen as one of the three most sacred sites in Ukraine for Orthodox believers. Before the war, it drew thousands of pilgrims a year.</p>
<p>A wooden church on one of Ukraine's most sacred Orthodox sites was destroyed by Russian bombing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, after a previous attack "killed four monks".</p>.<p>"Russian artillery again hit" the All Saints Skete of the Holy Dormition Sviatogirsk Lavra, Zelenskyy said on Telegram with a video showing the church in eastern Ukraine ablaze.</p>.<p>He said previous bombardment this week by Russian forces "killed four monks and severely wounded four others" at Sviatogirsk Lavra.</p>.<p>The Ukrainian leader said 300 civilians including 60 children had sought shelter from bombs at the church amid fierce fighting in the Donbas.</p>.<p>Plumes of black smoke and flames rose from the onion-shaped domes of a church structure in an unattributed picture shared on social media by Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko.</p>.<p>The church was "destroyed for the first time in the Soviet era. Afterwards, it was rebuilt. And now it has been set ablaze by the Russian army," Zelenskyy said.</p>.<p>He also called for "barbaric" Russia to be kicked out of UN cultural agency UNESCO.</p>.<p>The Moscow branch of Ukraine's Orthodox church, which manages the monastery, said earlier the fire broke out "as a result of hostilities".</p>.<p>"The flames completely engulfed the main church of the monastery," it added.</p>.<p>There was no immediate information on the victims, said the church, which recently decided to break with Russia.</p>.<p>Recent battles between Russia and Ukraine have centred on the eastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions after Moscow failed to capture the capital Kyiv early in the invasion.</p>.<p>The Russian defence ministry said its units deployed north of Sviatogirsk were "not fighting" in the area and accused Ukrainian troops of "setting fire" to the site.</p>.<p>The facility is seen as one of the three most sacred sites in Ukraine for Orthodox believers. Before the war, it drew thousands of pilgrims a year.</p>