In the Khmelnytskyi region, TRC officers detained yet another priest of the UOC

On the morning of October 9, 2026, in the village of Malye Puzyrki in the Khmelnytskyi District, Archpriest Sergiy Sinyuk, rector of the St. Michael’s Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was detained. According to information from the Khmelnytskyi Diocese of the UOC, the clergyman was forcibly taken to the 4th Department of the Shepetivka Regional Military Commission in the city of Belogorie.

According to the information received, despite the archpriest’s serious health problems, including heart disease, he was forcibly sent to undergo a military medical examination. Upon completion of the procedure, the priest was taken away to an unknown destination.

The Khmelnytskyi Diocese emphasizes that conscription into military service contradicts church canons. In particular, Rule 83 of the Holy Apostles and Rule 7 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council explicitly prohibit clergy from bearing arms and performing military service; violation of these rules results in defrocking. Representatives of the diocese called on Ukrainian government authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident, to uphold the provisions of the Constitution, and to facilitate the archpriest’s prompt release.

As a reminder, we previously reported that an involving the detention of a clergyman of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) occurred in the city of Zolotonosha, Cherkasy Oblast. Archpriest Andriy Kononenko, who, despite having legal grounds for deferment, was forcibly taken to the regional conscription center.