OCU hierarch condemns Ukrainian resistance to TCC and calls for militarization of state

on January 29, 2026, during an event dedicated to the 118th anniversary of the Battle of Kruty, OCU hierarch Mikhail Zinkevich harshly criticized Ukrainians who resist representatives of territorial recruitment centers (TCCs), calling it a «great shame.» He emphasized the urgent need for mobilization to defend the country and called for a change in public attitudes toward military service, and declared Ukraine’s future as a military state. Zinkevich’s words were reported by Volynski Novyny.

In his speech, Zinkevich said: «It’s a great shame when the Ukrainian nation is fighting against the CCC. It’s a shame.» He characterized the TCC employees as «specific individuals designated by the state whose task is to gather an army to defend Ukraine,» thus emphasizing their state function and the importance of their work in wartime.

According to Zinkevych, those who evade service or are unwilling to fight «foster uncertainty in the government, uncertainty in Ukraine, uncertainty, forgive, just so it will be quiet, just so it will be over, just so it will not be me.» He also expressed his belief that «the future of our country is a military state, and there is no other way out,» indicating his vision of a long-term strategy for Ukraine’s development.

Zinkevich called for a radical change in attitudes toward mobilization, asking a rhetorical question: «Imagine, we do not want to go to war. We don’t want to die, no one wants to die, but we don’t want to go to war. Who will defend the Motherland? At least in some way?» He also divided the society into three categories: those who are immediately ready to go to war and die; those who are ready to go only if called upon; and those who «cannot fight in their hearts.»

On July 5, 2025, a church in honor of Prince Volodymyr the Equal-to-the-Apostles was «consecrated» on the territory of the Volyn Regional Territorial Recruitment Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine . The religious events were performed by the odious head of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Mikhail Zinkevich. Together with Zinkevich, employees of the CCC and chaplains of the OCU «prayed» in the church.