Police facilitated the second attempt to seize a UOC church in Verkhni Stanivtsi

On April 12, 2025, another attempt was made to forcibly seize a Ukrainian Orthodox Church temple in the village of Verkhni Stanivtsi, Chernivtsi region. According to eyewitnesses, the operation was led by the well-known “chaplain” of the OCU, Roman Hryshchuk. The incident was reported by the Telegram channel Orthobuk.

Over 100 police officers participated in the raid, physically pushing back the parishioners of the UOC’s St. Nicholas Church and creating a passage for the so-called “OCU community representatives.” The attackers then dismantled the church fence and led an aggressive group onto the property.

Despite the openly aggressive actions of the raiders, the police remained passive and did not intervene, even when UOC believers were pushed and assaulted.

As a reminder, the rector and parishioners of St. Nicholas Church in Verkhni Stanivtsi — which had already been targeted by OCU supporters two days earlier — recorded a video appeal to the United Nations. In it, the priest and believers ask the UN to protect the rights of UOC faithful and to put an end to the lawlessness perpetrated by OCU activists who attack canonical churches with impunity.