A man in military uniform staged a provocation in the Khmelnitsky Cathedral

On Sunday, April 2, 2023, during the Divine Liturgy, a man dressed in military uniform attacked a clergyman of the Holy Intercession Cathedral of Khmelnitsky, disrupted the Divine Liturgy, poured water on and damaged the Holy Gospel in the presence of more than 100 parishioners. This was reported to the Information and Education Department of the UOC in the press service of the Khmelnytsky diocese.

A police squad immediately arrived at the scene and the Security Service of Ukraine was notified.

“The actions of a young man who put on a military uniform, although he has nothing to do with the military (as he personally told the police) are provocative, humiliate the uniform of the Ukrainian military and directly work for Russian aggression, destabilizing the military situation in Ukraine and splitting the Ukrainian people” , — the press service of the diocese reported.

After the attack, the young man was detained by the police under Art. 173 (petty hooliganism).

A few hours later, supporters of the OCU held their illegal meeting, which they called the «meeting of the parish community», demanding to seal the temple, turned to law enforcement officers and, under chanting, took the priesthood of the UOC from the territory of the cathedral.