The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is outraged that priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are "leaving Ukraine unimpeded"

Editor-in-Chief of the Greek Catholic online project "Religious Information Service of Ukraine" Taras Antoshevsky pointed out a systematic pattern whereby clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are able to travel abroad without hindrance, even if criminal cases have been opened against them. Antoshevsky pointed to cases where, even after being detained by the State Border Guard Service, clergy members leave the country within a few days. He discussed this in a comment on Espreso.tv.

According to Antoshevsky, such privileges apply not only to ordinary priests but also to media figures involved in “propaganda activities.” As the most telling example, the expert cites the case of Metropolitan Longin: despite five cases pending against him, the next court hearing was disrupted because he left for Romania under the pretext of needing medical treatment.

The expert also notes that some clergy members who hold foreign citizenship use it to cross the border freely, even while investigative proceedings are underway. In particular, mention was made of the archbishop and abbot of the Holosiivskyi Monastery of the UOC, who returned to Ukraine after leaving and continues his activities. In addition, Taras Antoshevsky emphasized that, despite a formal ban on media outlets representing the interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), their content continues to be distributed through new domain names, which are registered immediately after the previous ones are blocked.

As a reminder, we previously reported that Yuriy Chernomorets—a controversial religious scholar, expert at the State Agency for Special Services (GESS), and lobbyist for the OCU—proposed deporting or imprisoning the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to Chernomorets, it is precisely the hierarchs of the UOC who are delaying the implementation of the anti-church Law No. 3894, while allegedly deceiving the public by claiming that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not part of the Moscow Patriarchate.