“He did not fight the Moscow spirit in the Lavra”: Head of the Ministry of Culture explains dismissal of Maxim Ostapenko

The head of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi, explained the reason for the dismissal of the director general of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, Maksym Ostapenko. According to Tochytsky, Ostapenko “did not fight the Moscow spirit in the Lavra.” The official wrote about this on his Facebook account.

“The dismissal of the director general of the National Reserve ”Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” is a response to the weak position in the implementation of this law. The fact that there should be no Moscow spirit in the Lavra should have been the point of greatest effort of the head of the reserve. However, with the Ministry’s assistance in transferring the churches to the OCU, the result of the head’s year of work is not adequate to the national security challenges faced by Ukrainian society,” – the official emphasized.

Tochytsky added that the state does not have time to deal with the “uncontrolled stay of Moscow priests” on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, apparently hinting at new measures to be taken against the UOC monks in the near future.

“Moscow priests have desecrated the Lavra, making it a place of trade in faith and consumer goods. Unfortunately, the real changes that were expected to liberate the Lavra from the enterprising spirit of the Moscow church did not take place. The country has no time to wait for the illegal trade, illegal rent, uncontrolled stay of Moscow monks and further destruction of monuments to finally stop,” – he concluded.

As reported, on May 21, 2025, the head of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochytskyi, signed a decree dismissing Maxim Ostapenko from the post of Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve. According to Ostapenko, he was not warned of his dismissal and the reasons were not explained.