Ukrainian Police Accused of Targeting UOC Faithful After Chernivtsi Cathedral Clash

Faithful members of the UOC gather outside the Holy Spirit Cathedral in defense of the holy site. Photo: raskolamnet.info

CHERNIVTSI — Police in the western Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi are reportedly conducting vehicle checks and interrogations in an effort to identify Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) parishioners who defended the Holy Spirit Cathedral on June 17, 2025, from militants associated with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

According to footage published by the Dozor channel, officers have stopped vehicles belonging to parishioners and declared their involvement in the incident to be an administrative offense. One officer stated that the action was part of an effort to identify those “who participated in the mass disturbances” near the cathedral, which he referred to as a case of “public disorder.”

Previously, UOJ's Ukrainian branch (SPZh) reported that as of June 23, nearly 70 individuals from the Bukovyna region had been added to unofficial “blacklists” of those who took part in the defense of the cathedral.

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