Center of spiritual life of Muslims of Donetsk region.
Islam in Ukraine dates back to the 7th century AD, the times of the Khazar Khaganate. Later, it flourished in the Crimean Khanate, a Muslim monarchy that existed on the Crimean peninsula in the 15th–18th centuries.
Today, there are active mosques in nine cities in mainland Ukraine. One of them is the Cathedral Mosque in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, erected in 2011. The Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Association of Social Organisations Alraid, the Kuwaiti Charitable Foundation Manabi Al-Khair, and the local community all contributed to its construction.
The mosque is designed for 350 people and is decorated with a dome six metres in diameter and five metres in height. The temple became an important centre of the spiritual life of Muslims who used to travel to Donetsk, now occupied by Russia, for Friday prayers and didn’t have a place to perform Eid al-Adha or Ramadan Eid.
During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian forces destroyed the Cathedral Mosque. On March 1, 2022, Kostiantynivka was shelled. Russian shells pierced the roof of the mosque, damaging windows and scratching its walls.
Kostiantynivka Mosque epitomised the tolerance and peaceful coexistence of various religious and ethnic groups in Ukraine. By wiping out Ukrainian Christian churches, mosques, and synagogues alike, Russia is proving time and again that its ultimate goal is to erase Ukraine’s diverse identity.
The site that once held memories may now turn into a memory itself.