Prosecutor’s Office Avoids Court in Cases Against Defenders of the UOC Cathedral

Attempts to prosecute clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who defended the St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy during the winter of 2025 are failing. Cases initiated after the violent seizure of the sanctuary by supporters of the OCU are stalling in courts, while the prosecutor’s office avoids further action. This was reported by the Dozor channel on «First Cossack».

Following the release of a UN Monitoring Mission report detailing the violent seizure of the church by OCU militants, law enforcement opened a series of criminal proceedings against UOC faithful. The most notable cases involved priests Roman Harkavenko and Oleksandr Smyk, who were charged with “hooliganism” (Part 4, Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and “infliction of bodily harm.”

However, the lack of evidence quickly led the cases to a dead end. It was revealed that the alleged “attack” took place while the accused was hospitalized, and the supposed “injuries” were limited to unrecorded physical pain.

The prosecutor’s office offered the accused priests a plea deal, but they refused, unwilling to admit guilt in a case they consider politically motivated.

As a result, the process has essentially stalled: prosecutors simply do not attend court hearings. Currently, witnesses are being heard. Only one witness for all incidents has been called by the complainants — representatives of the OCU.

Additionally, the Cherkasy Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports that clergy in the Cherkasy region have received provocative messages allegedly from an officer of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. The diocese believes the aim of this provocation is to initiate criminal proceedings against UOC clerics in the region.