Ukraine court suspends case on eviction of monks from Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

The Northern Economic Court of Appeal in the Ukrainian capital has suspended consideration of the case on the eviction of monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This was reported on January 27 by lawyer Nikita Chekman.

"The consideration of the case on the eviction of the monastery was stopped until the full consideration of the case on the unilateral termination of the agreement on the use of the lower Lavra," he wrote in his Telegram.

On January 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow can only welcome the profile report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with its findings on the oppression of supporters of the Orthodox canonical church in Ukraine.

Earlier, on December 19 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) that is taking place in Ukraine is a blatant violation of the rights of believers, but the world prefers not to notice it.

Kiev's persecution of the canonical UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate began in 2022: criminal cases were brought against clergy and monks, they were expelled from churches, which were seized by unknown people in military uniforms and supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU). Temples, churches, and even the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra were searched: they were looking for traces of "anti-Ukrainian activity" there. Believers tried to defend the churches, the seizure of which was almost always accompanied by violence, and went to rallies.