Cherkasy, far-right Azov soldiers seized the Monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos
Monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC
Address: Cherkasy, 374 Blahovistna Street
On November 20, 2023, a violent seizure of the monastery took place in the city of Cherkasy, central Ukraine. For the assault on the monastery, local OCU clerics hired servicemen of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in Cherkasy began to come under attack in mid-November 2023.
November 16, 2023 а group of OCU clerics arrived on the monastery grounds, accompanied by people in military uniform who identified themselves as members of the National Corps. Police officers and representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also arrived at the monastery.
The raiding group installed new locks on the church doors and surrounded the building, waiting for the UOC faithful and clergy who were holding an evening service inside the church.
The activists brought documents on the re-registration of the community. These documents claimed that believers had allegedly voted to “transfer” to the OCU on August 10, 2023, and that the vote had supposedly taken place on the monastery grounds.
At the same time, no meetings of any kind were held on the monastery grounds on August 10.
Along with the activists, five OCU chaplains were present on church property.
Police officers did not prevent the violent seizure of the shrine and merely observed the actions of OCU supporters.
The nuns, clergy, and UOC faithful refused to leave their monastery.
November 20, 2023. At around 10:00 a.m., a group of people in military uniform stormed the monastery grounds. Among the attackers were identified active servicemen of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including Deputy Commander Dmytro Kukharchuk.
Together with them, OCU clerics Nazarii and Rafail Zasanskyi entered the monastery territory.
A brutal attack was carried out against believers and clergy. Several people were hospitalized with severe injuries.
The attackers assaulted people and seized smartphones in order to delete recorded evidence of the crimes. The police who were present on the monastery grounds remained completely inactive.
The monastery was seized, and some of the attackers proceeded to the Third City Hospital, where injured priests and believers were being treated.
According to eyewitnesses, they surrounded the hospital and did not allow even medical personnel to enter. Mobile phones were confiscated from those who attempted to document the events.
(Source: DOZOR on Pershyi Kozatskyi Project)
At the same time, another group of attackers broke into the monastic cells, where they desecrated liturgical items.
UOC priest Fr. Oleh Pashchenko was seriously injured by OCU raiders—his jaw was broken.
A 76-year-old parishioner, Oleh Slobodyanyk, suffered a double leg fracture.
December 2023 employees of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission visited Cherkasy.
During their work in the city, human rights defenders carefully interviewed the victims, recording their testimonies, statements, and medical documents confirming the injuries sustained. Several victims were still hospitalized at the time of the Mission’s visit following maxillofacial surgeries.
Many of the injured believers gave testimony anonymously, as due to the inaction of law enforcement agencies and threats to their lives and health from the attackers, they did not feel safe.
Mission representatives were provided with a complete body of documentary evidence of the violent crimes against UOC believers, including videos of the attacks, documents confirming the opening of criminal cases, and evidence of attempts by official structures to downplay the criminal consequences for those involved.
(Source: Press Service of the Cherkasy Diocese of the UOC)
Criminal Proceedings
Five criminal cases were opened regarding the invasion of the monastery by militants and OCU clerics. Law enforcement agencies initially refused to open the cases, and the victims’ lawyers were forced to obtain their initiation through the courts.
Only after the arrival of UN representatives did investigators of the Cherkasy Regional Police begin taking testimony from injured parishioners. Throughout this entire period, not a single witness had been questioned.
In one of the cases, the composition of prosecutors was changed from civilian to military prosecutors. This indicates that active servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were among the attackers.
(Source: DOZOR on Pershyi Kozatskyi Project)
To this day, not a single attacker has been held accountable, and the Monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos remains under the control of OCU raiders
КУ ст. 35 (свобода вероисповедания) · ЕСПЧ ст. 9 · Нормы ООН