Kiev, Europe Brief News- At least 59 religious sites were targeted across Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
They include an Orthodox cathedral with its steeple ripped apart, a Jewish school struck by shelling, and parish churches left almost totally flattened.
Targeting historic monuments and cultural heritage sites is a war crime under international law, according to the Hague Convention.
However, Russia denied more than once targeting civilian infrastructure and civilians.
In an address to Israel’s parliament last week, Ukraine’s President Zelensky claimed Russia had struck the town of Uman, a site revered by many Hasidic Jews.
Mr Zelensky, who is Jewish, said Russian rockets hit the town on the first day of the invasion in February. Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews travel to Uman every Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) to visit the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who revived the Hasidic movement and died in 1810.
Moscow has denied the claim, sharing images of what it said were Ukrainian forces loading arms near a synagogue there.
“I want to underscore that the Russian armed forces do not strike civilian targets as part of the special military operation,” Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
But Uman’s Jewish community has rejected claims about weapons near or in synagogues.
“All synagogues and Jewish sites in Ukraine are used exclusively for their intended purpose, to carry out religious activities or to help members of Jewish communities and the local population,” the United Jewish Community of Ukraine wrote on its Telegram feed.
