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Recruitment Officers Detain Rector of UOC Church in Kyiv Region
A UOC priest from Kyiv region was reportedly transferred to a military unit after officials detained him for an alleged failure to register for military service.
KYIV — Mykola Matvienko, rector of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s (UOC) Assumption Church in the village of Kyrdany, was reportedly taken to a military unit in the Chernihiv region after being detained by police and officers of Ukraine’s territorial recruitment center, according to the Telegram channel First Cossack.
According to the priest’s relatives, Fr. Mykola was traveling by moped toward the town of Tarashcha when police stopped him. Officials reportedly claimed that he was not registered for military service, seized his vehicle, and transported him to the recruitment center in Bila Tserkva.
The priest was allegedly assured that he would be released once his documents had been checked. However, according to the report, he remained inside the facility without being allowed to contact his family. He was subsequently sent to a military unit in the Chernihiv region.
The incident adds to ongoing concerns surrounding the mobilization of Ukrainian citizens during the country’s war.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Ukrainian recruitment officers detained a UOC priest with a heart condition.
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