LUGANSK, July 3. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops destroyed several churches in Lisichansk and killed a priest, a city resident told TASS on Sunday.

"It is a war against Orthodoxy. We understand it perfectly well. Ukrainian troops burnt down one church and razed two more to the ground. A priest was killed," she said. "Thank God, we have been liberated. We are glad to be the Russian Orthodox Church."

On Sunday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin that Lisichansk and several neighboring communities have been taken under control of the LPR’s People’s Militia.