Church accused of Moscow ties defies Kyiv eviction

STORY: There were scuffles outside a Kyiv monastery on Thursday (March 30) after a Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church defied an eviction order.

Kyiv accuses the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – the UOC – of having ties with Russia...

and tensions over its presence at the 980-year-old monastery have risen since Moscow's invasion.

Members of the church refused entry to a government official who came to inspect the sprawling complex hours after the deadline to leave had passed.

Shortly afterwards, Reuters correspondents saw church representatives trying to prevent journalists from filming a senior cleric outdoors.

A Reuters reporter was hit and shoved by an unidentified man, and another reporter was pushed away by a cleric as she tried to approach him. Nobody was injured.

“We will not let government representatives in until there is a court decision,” said the cleric.

While the UOC is Ukraine’s second-largest church, most Ukrainian Orthodox believers belong to a separate branch of the faith.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine was formed four years ago by uniting branches independent of Moscow.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is accused of breaking tenancy agreements and illegally constructing buildings, according to the government. The UOC denies this.

They are also accused of maintaining ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which supports the invasion.

The UOC says it broke all links with the Russian Church in May 2022.