Unknown attempt to set fire to UOC temple in Kiev

According to the UOJ source, on 16 January at 4 a.m. the unknown hurled three firebombs into the yard of Kiev temple named after “Softening of Evil Hearts” icon.

The evil-doers targeted the church façade. None of the bottles exploded. The duty man, who was in the church territory, was able to defuse the devices on his own. The façade was slightly damaged.

“We take the failure of arsonists as a miracle, shown by the Mother of God,” commented on the incident father John Tronko to the UOJ.

He also noted he did not see any signs of inter-faith hatred in what had occurred before.

“We assume the incident has nothing to do with denominational confrontation,” emphasized the church senior. “Most likely, it’s an attempt of certain unfair property developers to grab the land, where our church is located, from our community.”

Similar attempts to set fire to the temple, located in Syrets residential area, have been made earlier. On 5 January 2016 the unknown threw cocktail bottles into the yard. The fire, which damaged the facade, was extinguished fairly quickly.

The UOJ follows the developments.