Town curses Putin’s ‘bloodthirsty b*****d’ troops for torching church

Legend says an act of God saved church from WWII Nazi attack

Ukrainians living in a village near Kyiv have cursed Vladimir Putin's "bloodthirsty b*****d" soldiers for destroying a church that legend says was attacked by the Nazis during World War II but survived.

The Church of St George in Zavorychi, about 40 miles northeast of the capital, caught fire and burned to the ground during Russian shelling earlier this week as Kremlin troops advanced on the capital.

Legend has it that a Nazi soldier tried to burn it down in 1941 but it was saved by an act of God.

Julia Tymoshenko, a 22-year-old native of the village, who saw the blaze and recorded it on a camera, told The Daily Beast: ““A part of me has died.”

“I always loved Easter... waking up at 3am to bless the food. People of our village used to bring baskets filled with goods and place them in a circle around the church,” she said.

“Those bloodthirsty b******s opened fire from their rusty tanks straight at my crib, my motherland... this church was a symbol of that community and my childhood at grandma’s," she added.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s war in Ukraine (Press Association Images)

"I can only imagine the sorrow my grandma felt watching from her window how the church was turning into ashes. Everything that is left alive in me now burns.”

Fierce fighting has continued in and around Kyiv for days. Analysts believe the Russian president sees the capital as the most strategically important city in his invasion plan.

A 40-mile long column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles has been slowly approaching the city for over a week but got bogged down by logistic issues and stiff Ukrainian resistance.

It has started moving again and on Friday Britain's Ministry of Defence said “Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days. This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv.”

As Putin's forces advance on the capital, many residents are fleeing.

Dasha, a 31-year-old psychotherapist from Kyiv, arrived on Friday at Medyka, Poland's busiest border crossing with Ukraine, where temperatures overnight dropped to -9C.

She left Kyiv on the first day of the invasion and stayed in the western city of Lviv but has now left Ukraine on the advice of her husband, who is in the army reserve.

"It's tough in Kyiv, they are encircling the city," she said, with two little dogs on their leashes.

"I'm going to Wroclaw (in southwest Poland), I have some friends there," she said before bursting into tears. "I don't know what to do next."