The Russian aggressor is preparing an air strike on the Saint Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv.
The statement was published on Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's website.
We received information that Russian troops are preparing an air strike on the most important shrine of the Ukrainian people since Kyivan Rus - Saint Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv. His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of UGCC, appeals to all Christians to pray for the spiritual sanctuary and appeals to the aggressor to refrain from this most horrific act of vandalism," the secretariat of Major Archbishop to UGCC said.
"May St. Sophia, the Wisdom of God, enlighten those who have planned to commit this crime," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
UCCRO appealed to the Russian leadership to stop the rocket fire immediately.
"We have received very alarming information about the possibility of an air attack on one of the most famous symbols of Ukraine, the spiritual shrine - Saint Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv. We can not confirm it ourselves, for obvious reasons. However, we see barbaric attacks by Russian troops in residential areas of Ukrainian citie” states UCCRO.
The authors of the appeal noted that "During World War II, Soviet saboteurs blew up another shrine - Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. It would not be unbelievable to assume that the distorted mind of the aggressor is capable of committing another such crime."
"It is absolutely possible for Russian missiles to hit Saint Sophia Cathedral due to technical weapons defects. Every day, these missiles fly in the direction of Kyiv, and each of them can, if not specifically, then due to defects or errors hit the world-famous shrine. That is why we appeal to the Russian political leadership to stop the rocket fire immediately! " UCCRO stressed.
UCCRO called on the international community to "immediately use all possible means to influence Russia's leadership to refrain from criminal attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv."
It was previously reported that Mariupol is under fire from Russian jet artillery. This was announced by the head of the Donetsk military-civil administration Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Also, Russian occupiers shelled the city hospital in Kharkiv, said Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to the head of the President's Office.