Cherkasy City Council refuses to register land for OCU under seized UOC cathedral

In Cherkasy, the city council decided to deny the “St. Michael’s Garrison Parish of the OCU” the right to use the land plots on which the previously seized Archangel Michael’s Cathedral and other facilities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are located. The main reason for the refusal was that the religious organization did not have the necessary title documents for some of the real estate.

According to the regional publication 18000, the St. Michael’s Garrison Parish of the OCU filed a petition with the city council for the permanent use of three plots with a total area of 3.1 hectares. These territories are home to the Archangel Michael Cathedral, the diocesan administration of the UOC, and a Sunday school, which were seized by raiders in October 2024.

According to an official document, the Cherkasy City Council motivated its decision as follows: “Taking into account the absence of title documents for part of the real estate of the religious organization, the Cherkasy City Council decided to refuse to grant the land plots for permanent use.”

Representatives of the OCU, commenting on this decision, expressed hope that the city council members would “change their position” and eventually vote for the land transfer. At the same time, they referred to similar precedents with other churches that had previously come under the control of their structure.

As we reported earlier, on the morning of November 11, 2025, a forceful seizure of the church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in honor of the icon “Chernobyl Savior” took place in the city of Cherkasy . It is reported that representatives of the OCU, with the support of police officers and the Security Service of Ukraine, occupied the building, forcing the UOC community out of it.