In the Zhytomyr region, officers from the TRC detained a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

In the city of Korosten, Zhytomyr Oblast, an incident occurred involving representatives of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC), who detained Archpriest Pavel Girchenko and forcibly brought him before a military medical commission. The clergyman is an internally displaced person from the frontline zone of the Kherson region.

The incident occurred on the morning of September 6, 2026, when the 56-year-old archpriest was riding his bicycle to the Church of St. Elijah the Prophet to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. According to eyewitnesses, TCC officers ambushed the clergyman, stopped him, took his cell phone—preventing him from contacting his loved ones—and forcibly put him in a car, after which they drove him to Zhytomyr.

It is important to note that the archpriest’s family had previously lost their home and property due to active hostilities in the Kherson region. Despite attempts by his relatives and lawyer to determine the priest’s whereabouts, access to him was restricted. Relatives were only granted permission to visit him three days after his detention.

According to reports, while in Zhytomyr, Father Pavel was pressured to sign documents from the military medical commission, but he refused to do so. He was subsequently returned to the recruit detention center in Korosten. Attempts by parishioners and the priest’s wife to submit documents confirming his clerical status and status as an internally displaced person were met with a sharp refusal by representatives of the Territorial Military Commissariat. At this time, the family is awaiting legal support and asks the faithful for their prayers.

As a reminder, on September 3, 2026, an incident involving the detention of a clergyman occurred in the Chechelnytskyi District of the Tulchyn Diocese. Employees of the Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) forcibly detained Archpriest Dimitri Kolchenko, the rector of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s church in the village of Britavka.