“For insulting the leadership of the OCU”: UOC priest tried in Zakarpattia for critical comments on OCU in social media

Mukachevo City District Court of Transcarpathian region tried a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Vasily Yurina, for critical comments on the social network Facebook about the OCU. According to the investigation, the priest “insulted the leadership and believers of the OCU”. This was reported by zaxid.net.

According to the court verdict, which was delivered on March 19, 2025, during 2023-2024, Vasily Yurina distributed about ten publications on his Facebook page in which he “insulted the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko, compared representatives of the OCU with barbarians, crusaders, fascists and Russian soldiers and convinced of the harmful influence of the OCU supporters on society.”

During the court hearing, the UOC clergyman pleaded guilty, repented of his actions, and entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor. As a result, Judge Oksana Margitych found Vasyl Yurina guilty of inciting religious hatred and enmity and fined him UAH 3,400. The convict also has to pay 22.7 thousand UAH for the examination.

Earlier, we reported that the Slavuta City District Court of Khmelnytsky region found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison a priest of the Shepetivka Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Nikolai Khlan. The priest was accused of inciting religious hatred and justifying the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.