"After Pochaev, they'll move on to the rest": DESS has announced large-scale inspections of religious organizations to investigate their ties to the Russian Orthodox Church

Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) is launching a new phase of inspections of religious organizations to determine their affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). This was reported by “Ukrinform.”

DESS Head Viktor Yelensky stated that following the completion of the analysis of the Pochaiv Lavra’s activities, the agency’s specialists are moving on to examine other religious communities and organizations. According to the official, the inspections are being conducted in stages, as it is not possible to cover all sites simultaneously.

Regarding the Pochaiv Lavra, the agency had previously concluded that there were ties to the ROC, citing the monastery’s affiliation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) as grounds for this conclusion. As the source clarifies, the Lavra will receive an official demand to sever the identified ties. Should the monastery refuse, the State Service intends to seek a court order to suspend its activities.