My friend wrote to me:
It seems mercs killed a monk. The monks don't have cameras and the description applies to basically all mercs in Ukraine.
It seems Azov is mostly in the West. The Azov church is threatening the schismatics attacking the church. Azov told the schismatics to leave West Ukraine.
So I'm not sure which mercs are in Donestk.
Regarding the murder at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Sviatohirsk, in the Donetsk region, where a monk, Varsanofiy, was stabbed to death and a monk and a novice were injured.
I received more detailed information from the injured man.
According to Andrei, he was alone on the upper platform of the monastery, near the church, in the area of the stairs, and was sitting on a bench.
Three soldiers approached him.
He clarified that these were not the usual Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who were stationed upstairs. These three were in full gear and, in his opinion, looked like members of a special forces unit.
Andrei suggested that they might have been "rogue elements from some battalion," but judging by their equipment, they were definitely some kind of special unit.
As they approached him, the soldiers said, "Glory to Ukraine."
Andrei remained silent.
They repeated it, and he responded, "Glory to our Lord God. Save and protect."
After that, they started beating him.
There were wooden bars or poles nearby, which were used to make the railings on the descent.
One of the soldiers picked up one of these bars and started hitting him with it.
Andrei grabbed the bar, trying to stop the beating.
Then, the attacker pulled a knife from a pouch on his chest and started cutting at Andrei's hands to force him to let go of the bar.
Andrei let go, and, in a semi-bent position, he held onto the railings.
Then, they ordered him to stand up. Andrei thought they were going to shoot him.
Instead, they inflicted several stab wounds on him, including damaging his lung.
After that, he fell.
The soldiers discussed what to do with him for a while, and then they threw him into a ditch, hoping he would bleed to death.
He miraculously survived, despite the heavy blood loss.
The time between the attack and when he was found was about forty minutes.
During that time, he periodically lost consciousness.
After the attack, he also heard gunshots.
Andrei believes that there may have been more victims.
According to him, near the upper church, there was a room that looked like a guard post, where there was a guard.
He doesn't know what happened to him and is worried that he may have also been harmed.
Andrei learned in the hospital that the monk and novice, Gregory, had also been injured, as he initially thought that only he had been injured.
It is unknown exactly where the novice, Gregory, was injured.
Despite his injuries, he managed to get down to the other monks on his own.
After that, Andrei was also found.
It is possible that before the attack, the novice, Gregory, was with other monks in the church, but there is no definitive information about this.
In addition to the stab wounds and lung damage, Andrei suffered a traumatic brain injury.
His condition is serious, but he is conscious.
I understand that the investigation already knows who the killers are, which explains the complete silence.
August 29, 2026 5
