Lawyers report the disappearance of Father Andriy Denisenko, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, following a visit by SBU officers

The wife of Andriy Denisenko, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, contacted the lawyers of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church because all contact with him had been lost after he was taken from the military unit by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

According to , Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer for the UOC, the incident began on June 25, 2026, when the priest was detained by patrol police officers at the “Bykivnia” checkpoint and taken to the Dnipro Regional Center for Temporary Detention and Pretrial Detention. Subsequently, Father Andrei was sent for military training to the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

According to the human rights activist, the priest last made contact on July 26, after which, according to information from his fellow servicemen, the unit was sent to a training ground. Some time later, it became known that SBU officers had taken Father Andrei directly from the training ground. Eyewitnesses report that the priest underwent a polygraph test, after which representatives of the security service stated that they had additional questions for him and took him away to an unknown location along with his personal belongings.

At this time, the whereabouts of Father Andriy Denisenko remain unknown. His relatives have not been provided with any information regarding his legal status or the legal grounds for his detention. A team of attorneys has already begun working on this case: they are preparing requests and appeals to the relevant authorities to establish the circumstances of the incident and ensure that the detainee’s constitutional rights are respected.

As a reminder, we previously reported that a high-profile incident occurred in Lutsk involving the forced mobilization of a clergyman of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by employees of the local Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC).