"Russian special services are to blame!": OCU lobbyist comments on attempts to "resuscitate" UOC-KP

The death of Filaret Denisenko served as a starting point for the activation of certain groups trying to claim the alleged “restoration” of the UOC-KP. According to experts, these processes have nothing to do with church life, but are a planned information technology of Russia’s special services aimed at destabilizing the OCU.

During the press conference of the OCU speakers, Major General Viktor Yahun, the SBU and OCU lobbyist, analyzed the situation after Denisenko’s death. According to his assessment, a small group of people are trying to reanimate the structure that legally ceased to exist in 2018, presenting it as a “true continuation” of the church tradition.

Yahun emphasized that such actions can be traced to the methods of work of the Russian special services. The scheme involves the use of ambitious or offended figures to create an information occasion, which is then scaled up through media resources that promote Russian narratives. The expert emphasized that the real goal of these manipulations is not to restore the UOC-KP, but to create the illusion of chaos and internal division in Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

“Russia does not need to restore the UOC-KP. They need something else – to create an image of chaos,” the analyst notes. Despite attempts to discredit him, Viktor Yahun assured that no real church catastrophe or “collapse” is taking place. “The canonical and legal position of the OCU,” in his opinion, remains stable, and such information attacks have no real basis.

As reported, on March 27 and 29, 2026 , new hierarchs of the UOC-KP were appointed in Sumy. The events, led by the new head of the organization, Nikodim Kobzar, took place at the Epiphany Cathedral of the Sumy Diocese of the UOC-KP. In addition, the organization also appointed permanent members of the Synod of the UOC-KP.