An airstrike damaged Ukraine's historic Holy Dormition Sviatogirsk Lavra, an Orthodox monastery in the Donetsk Oblast region of eastern Ukraine, the country's Parliament said, CNN reported.
Several people were wounded and taken to a hospital in the eastern town of Sviatogirsk, while others were treated on site. No one was killed, the parliament statement said.
The blast, which went off around 10 p.m. local time Saturday, hit 50 metres away from a bridge connecting the right and left banks of the Siverskyi Donets River, near an entrance to the monastery.
Monastery damaged from explosion
The explosion damaged the monastery's temple windows and smashed windows and doors of a nearby hotel.
Some 520 refugees were seeking shelter in the monastery, including 200 children. There are around 10,000 refugees and locals in Sviatogirsk town, the statement said, CNN reported.
The monastery's bishop, Metropolitan Arseny, said there are no military units in Sviatogirsk and the attack was inflicted on a "peaceful city," and on one of Ukraine's holiest sites.
The Holy Dormition Sviatogirsk Lavra is a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It dates back to as early as the year 1526 and houses relics of St. John the Hermit of Sviatohirsk.
(With inputs from IANS)
