The DESS is concerned about the priests of the UOC who died as a result of hostilities

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, which denied clergymen of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church the possibility of deferral from military mobilization on religious grounds, expressed concern about the clergymen of the UOC who died as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The head of the State Service, Viktor Yelensky, noted that Patriarch Kirill did not express condolences for any of the deceased priests of the UOC. He said this during a briefing for the media.

“Fourteen priests who mentioned his name during the liturgy, spoke of him as their father and lord, were killed by Russian soldiers. And Patriarch Kirill did not express condolences to any of them. Most of the 648 churches and houses of prayer that were destroyed during the large-scale invasion belonged to this church, and he did not express condolences to the people who attend them either,” – Yelensky emphasized.

We recall that on April 24, 2025, Archpriest Alexei Kuznetsov, a cleric of the Sumy Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was killed while performing his military duty in the combat zone. The priest served as a military chaplain and psychologist in the 252nd separate battalion of the territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy did not express sympathy to the family of the deceased clergyman.