A local resident was detained in Lviv for desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary

The Lviv police have launched a criminal investigation into a 46-year-old local resident who committed an act of vandalism against a religious monument. The perpetrator damaged a statue of the Virgin Mary located on Lyubinska Street.

The incident occurred on August 13, 2026. According to law enforcement sources cited by and , the man defaced the sculpture with a black marker and destroyed the floral arrangement placed at its base. An investigative team promptly arrived at the scene and quickly identified the perpetrator of the public order violation.

Currently, investigators from the local police department, under the procedural supervision of the Frankivsk District Prosecutor’s Office, have initiated criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, classifying the man’s actions as hooliganism. A pretrial investigation is underway, and the decision on whether to formally file charges is pending. The man faces severe punishment, including a substantial fine, probation, or restriction of liberty for up to five years.

As a reminder, we previously reported that another incident of religious intolerance was recorded at a Catholic parish in Queens, New York: an unknown man committed an act of vandalism, destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary with a hammer. The perpetrator knocked the sculpture off its pedestal and decapitated it, marking the fourth such incident at this church this year.