Court declared the mobilization of the deacon of the UOC illegal and released him from service

The court canceled the illegal mobilization of the clergyman of the Kyiv Diocese of the UOC, Deacon Viktor Pishta. The lawyer of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Archpriest Nikita Chekman, reported that UOC lawyers achieved the recognition of the mobilization as illegal and the release of the clergyman from service. The lawyer published this news on his Telegram channel.

Deacon Viktor Pishta was mobilized despite having a valid exemption, which freed him from service. The court confirmed that the mobilization violated the law and annulled the decision. The appeal of the military unit was dismissed.

It is also worth noting that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (SSEFС) published a list of legal entities — religious organizations that are considered critically important for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihood of the population during the special period. These are institutions whose leaders and employees will be exempt from mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the martial law period. Notably, the list completely excludes the religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which automatically threatens the forced mobilization of UOC clergy who do not have official grounds for a deferral from military service.