OCU spokesman criticizes previous leadership of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reserve for unwillingness to evict UOC monks from monastery

The head of the press service of the OCU, Yevstratiy Zoria, spoke about the dismissal of Maksym Ostapenko from the post of General Director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve. According to the OCU spokesman, the management of the reserve did everything possible not to evict the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the territory of the Lavra, while impeding the development of the OCU. He wrote about this on his Facebook account.

“I am not closely familiar with this particular situation, but in the two years since the process of liberation of the shrine from the ”Russian world” has been underway, I have been able to observe many things that I did not want to talk about in public, but which raised more and more questions. Formally, the MP allegedly has no rights to stay on the territory of the Lavra, but their representatives still live and serve there. Quite easily entering the 1) guarded 2) closed territory. Who agreed with whom about this state of affairs? And on what terms?”, – the OCU spokesman wonders.

Zorya added that it was with the connivance of the “reserve” that the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had exclusive access to the Lavra Caves, while the OCU is still unable to fully access the relics of the Kyiv Caves monks. He accused the “reserve” of collaborating with the UOC, saying that over the past two years there has been an imitation, not a real struggle with the UOC in the Lavra.

“And one more thing, in my opinion, is the de facto deferral and delay, under various pretexts, of the release of the Lavra caves from the control of the MP. For the opening of access to the caves and their shrines for Ukrainian prayer is the moment of the true and final liberation of the Lavra from the Russian world. The faithful and pilgrims need the opportunity to pray at the relics of the Venerable Fathers. We know very well what concept of resistance was chosen. And how this concept formed a kind of “secular-emperor partnership”. Not being able to directly and publicly prevent the liberation of the Lavra from the Russian world, our opponents are doing everything possible to prevent the Lavra from fully functioning as a Ukrainian monastery. They want as few services as possible. They want the caves and relics of the saints to be inaccessible to Ukrainian pilgrims and Ukrainian prayer. To simultaneously say at all meetings and in all memos that the OCU “does not want, does not wish, is not able”. Once upon a time, the same narratives were actively promoted by the previous head of the Department of Religious Affairs, Olena Bohdan, whom Pavlo Lebed called a “wise woman” for this. She was dismissed, but the conceptual approach of finding excuses for all sorts of delays and delays to allow the MP to stay in the Lavra as long as possible and to allow the OCU to develop it as a Ukrainian monastery as little as possible remained and was in effect. And the fact that the OCU did not bring these problems to the public does not mean that they did not exist and do not exist,” – he added.

As reported, on May 21, 2025, the head of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochytskyi, signed a decree dismissing Maksym Ostapenko from the post of Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve. According to Ostapenko, he was not warned of his impending dismissal and no reasons were given. Later, the official said he would appeal his dismissal in court.