American Human Rights Advocate Draws Attention to Disruption of UOC Primate’s Service in Khmelnytskyi

International lawyer and defender of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Robert Amsterdam, condemned the events that took place in Khmelnytskyi during the planned Divine Liturgy with His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. In a post on social media platform X, he stated that the service was disrupted due to aggressive actions by local activists and the complicity of authorities.

“A service with Metropolitan Onufriy in Khmelnytskyi was cancelled because agitators blocked the cathedral with garbage trucks, harassed parishioners and poured pig’s blood on the gates. This is what Ukraine’s campaign against the UOC looks like,” Amsterdam wrote.

Earlier, we reported that оn May 21, 2025, the city authorities of Khmelnytsky disrupted the visit of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, which was timed to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the revival of the Khmelnytsky Diocese of the UOC. According to the announcement, on May 21-22, the Primate of the UOC was to be in Khmelnytsky, where he was to consecrate the local St. Nicholas Cathedral. However, on the initiative of local authorities, special equipment and crowd consisting of radicals and supporters of the OCU were driven to the church. The protesters blocked access to the church, which resulted in the cancellation of Metropolitan Onufriy’s visit.