State Statistics Service records a sharp decline in the rate of "transitions" of religious communities from the UOC to the OCU

Since the beginning of full-scale hostilities in Ukraine, using administrative resources and other illegal methods, the OCU has managed to take control of 1387 religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). However, according to the latest data from the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (SESS), by the beginning of 2026, the pace of this «process» had slowed significantly, and in most regions of the country, the dynamics had practically come to a standstill.

According to Viktor Voynalovych, First Deputy Head of the State Emergency Service, in an interview with Glavkom, 1387 communities were «transferred» between 2022 and March 2026. At the same time, statistics show a significant drop in activity: in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the traditional leader in the number of «transitions,» the figures fell from 246 communities in 2022-2023 to only 12 in 2025. A similar trend is observed in Kyiv region, where the number of «transitions» has almost tripled.

Particular attention is paid to regional statistics, according to which in eight regions — Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Ternopil, and Kherson — no transitions were registered last year. «Positive dynamics» was noted only in Chernivtsi and Chernihiv regions. In particular, in Bukovyna, 38 communities «joined» the OCU in 2025, compared to 7 communities a year earlier.

Despite the internal processes, according to the regional military administrations, as of the beginning of 2025, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church retains the status of the largest Orthodox denomination in Ukraine. Its structure includes 10,118 objects (including 9,792 communities and 210 monasteries), while the OCU network includes 8,511 objects (8,291 communities and 91 monasteries). At the same time, representatives of the UOC leadership disagree with the official interpretation of the events, stating that the statements about the «voluntariness» of such transitions are false.

Earlier, we reported that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) issued an official order to the Holy Protection Holosiivskyi Monastery of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The decision was made based on the results of a study that revealed signs of the monastery’s affiliation with a foreign religious organization whose activities are banned in Ukraine.