Kyiv Metropolitanate of the UOC won another court case against DESS

on 19 May 2026, the Cassation Administrative Court ruled in favor of the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), fully satisfying the appeal in the case of the organization’s liquidation. The court ruling overturns the first instance ruling on the separation of the claims of the counterclaim filed by representatives of the church.

According to UOC lawyer Archpriest Nikita Chekman, the complaint was satisfied in full. The essence of the proceedings goes back to September 2025, when the State Service of Ukraine on Ethno-politics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) filed a lawsuit with the court to liquidate the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the UOC. In response, the Metropolia filed a counterclaim, demanding that the actions of the head of the DESS, Viktor Yelensky, be recognized as illegal and that the order to approve the religious expertise of the UOC Charter be canceled.

Earlier, on April 6, 2026, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal had already recognized the actions of the DESS leadership as illegal. The legal department of the UOC emphasized that the court actually recognized the expertise of the Charter as «defective» and devoid of legal force. The current decision of the court of cassation is an important stage in protecting the rights of the Kyiv Metropolitan Church and challenging the legality of the actions of state authorities against the religious organization.