UOC Priest and Rivne City Council Deputy Mykhailo Zharovskyi Declared Wanted by Military Recruitment Office

A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a deputy of the Rivne City Council from the «Rivne Razom» faction, Mykhailo Zharovskyi, has been declared wanted by the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCRSS). This information was confirmed by the Rivne Regional TCRSS in response to a journalistic inquiry. According to the provided data, Zharovskyi has been listed as wanted since December 28, 2024. The report was published by the Fourth Power news agency.

During a personal conversation with journalists ahead of a City Council session on May 1, Zharovskyi denied having any such status, saying it was the first he had heard of the matter. He stated that he possessed a temporary certificate of military registration issued in May 2024 and had updated his personal information as required. However, journalists noted that the deputy had not used the «Reserv+» mobile app, which is commonly used to verify military registration.

After further clarification, Zharovskyi admitted he was obligated to report to the TCRSS in the near future but claimed that, in his view, the allegations were unfounded. On May 8, when journalists made a follow-up request for comment on his current status, he declined to provide any.

Zharovskyi has served as the rector of the Church of All Volyn Saints of the UOC in Rivne since 2003. From 2010 to 2015, he was a member of the Rivne City Council representing the Party of Regions.

Earlier, it was reported that Andrii Smyrnov, a lobbyist for the OCU and an unofficial expert for Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, stated that the OCU is registering legal «clones» of UOC monasteries to facilitate the transfer of UOC property to the OCU by the state. According to Smyrnov, the state has full authority to dispose of monastic assets as it sees fit, and the OCU should always be ready to accept UOC churches and monasteries transferred into its possession.