In Zhytomyr region, OCU supporters "seal" a temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

An incident was recorded in the village of Novi Vorobyi, Zhytomyr region, where believers were blocked from accessing the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) was sealed shortly after its rector was subjected to forced mobilization. This was reported by the Telegram channel Dozor.

According to information from open sources, on May 30, 2026, unidentified persons blocked the entrance to the religious building and denied parishioners access to the territory. This was preceded by the detention of the clergyman, Hieromonk Ilya. According to the Dozor Telegram channel, the police handed the monk over to representatives of the territorial manning center (TMC), after which his absence was used to restrict access to the shrine.

It is also reported that the initiators of the blockade announced a fictitious community meeting to re-register the parish under the jurisdiction of the OCU. Currently, the entrance to their church is closed to UOC believers, and the exact date of the planned meeting remains unknown. The situation in Novi Vorobyi is yet another example of growing interfaith tensions in the region.

As reported, in the Zhytomyr region, law enforcement officers detained a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and handed him over to representatives of the territorial recruitment center (TCC). The detainee was a monk Ilya, who is the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Novi Voroby.