In Volyn, supporters of the OCU staged yet another provocation by holding a funeral service for a fallen soldier in a UOC church

In Volyn, representatives and supporters of the OCU staged yet another provocation against the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Politsy, Kamen-Kashirsky District, aimed at a possible takeover of the UOC church. The incident, which was portrayed in the media as the UOC priest’s refusal to perform a funeral service for a deceased Ukrainian soldier in the church, is in fact a deliberate attempt by OCU representatives to coerce the local UOC priest into allowing them to enter the church under the pretext of a funeral.

The deceased soldier was 48-year-old Oleksandr Oliferchuk, who had been listed as missing in action since May 13, 2026. His death was confirmed by DNA testing after he fought his final battle near the village of Budki in the Sumy region. ’s family expressed a wish for the funeral service to be conducted by clergy of the OCU, despite the fact that the church in the village of Politsy belongs to a parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

It is worth noting that the local priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church informed the family of the deceased that he would make the church available for the funeral service only if he personally conducted the service. Nevertheless, the deceased’s relatives refused the request of the rector of the local UOC parish and instead invited representatives of the OCU to participate in the service, as a result of which access to the church was denied.

Thus, fully aware of the conflictual nature of the situation, the relatives nevertheless brought the body of the deceased soldier to the UOC church, where they staged a provocation, accusing the priest of allegedly refusing to perform the funeral service and closing the church doors in the family’s face.

Furthermore, regional and national media are deliberately reporting on the incident in a way designed to shape public opinion that UOC priests allegedly refuse to perform funeral services for fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers.

As a reminder, on October 14, 2024, in the village of Vidnov in the Lviv region, representatives and supporters of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) provoked a conflict involving the local religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The scandal was triggered by the funeral of a local resident—Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier Mykhailo Sharpil—whose funeral service was conducted by representatives of the Greek Catholic Church. The UGCC brought the deceased’s body into the local UOC church dedicated to the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God and forced the UOC priest to conduct the soldier’s funeral service in the Orthodox church according to the Greek Catholic rite.