A Saskatoon museum offers glimpse of destroyed religious sites in Ukraine

"Destroyed Temples of Ukraine" exhibit opened on Sunday at the Musee Ukraina Museum on Avenue M South. ( Matt Young/CTV News)

A museum in Saskatoon has opened a new exhibit to shine a light on cultural and religious sites that have been destroyed in Ukraine since the war with Russia began.

Titled “Destroyed Temples of Ukraine,” it consists of large banners with powerful images of religious buildings that are now laced with bullet holes, crumbling walls, and entire structures reduced to rubble.

The exhibit opened on Sunday at the Musee Ukraina Museum on Avenue M South.

“Coming today to see this exhibit brings into focus what is happening in Ukraine right now,” says Anna Mycyk, president of the board of directors for the museum.

The museum says over 660 religious sites involving several faiths have been damaged or completely destroyed since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022.

“Places of worship are being destroyed. It’s part of the ongoing destruction in Ukraine to destroy the culture and the heritage of all the people who live there”

Each photo contains a QR code where people can get more information on a particular structure that has been damaged and its historical significance.

The museum says the largest number of damaged buildings is in the Donetsk region, where over 100 structures have been impacted by the war. It says temples in areas far from the front lines have also been damaged. About half of all religious buildings damaged or destroyed are temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

It says there have been cases of shelling of Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu religious buildings as well.

Mycyk says part of showing the photos of the destruction is also to spark conversation about rebuilding these sites, and how residents in Ukraine hope to rebuild the historical places of worship.

“The will and the resilience to rebuild, this is what Ukraine wants to do. The people want to rebuild their country”.

She hopes people will stop by and see the images of how the war is impacting structures that represent the culture and heritage of Ukraine.

Monday marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.