30.01.2015

The SMM visited the church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate in the Desnyanskiy district of Kyiv at the intersection of Saburova and Elektrotekhniczna streets, which was partly burned down during the night of 26–27 January. The SMM observed signs of fresh fire damage, including to the roof, which was severely damaged. The priest said that unidentified person(s) initiated the fire with a burning car tire. The police informed the SMM that an investigation was launched.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/138296>

24.09.2015

In government-controlled Mariupol (104km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM spoke with the Archbishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) for Donetsk and Mariupol, who said that a protest had been held on 21 September against the construction of a UOC-KP church in the city. He said that when he had addressed the protesters, some of them had become aggressive, insulted the present priests, and threatened to burn down the church if it was built.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/185676>

23.12.2015

The SMM continued to follow up on tensions between parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Ptycha (148km north-east of Lviv, Rivne region), where on 18 December over 250 people, including 20 young men in military-type fatigues bearing Right Sector insignia had gathered in a church yard; some 50 police officers had been also present. Despite media reports that violent clashes took place at the village church on 18 December, whilst at the scene that day the SMM did not observe significant incidents and an interlocutor from the local police did not confirm the occurrence of any serious clashes or injuries. The SMM has since learned that the situation has calmed down.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/212656>

05.01.2016

The SMM followed up on alleged tensions in relations between religious communities. In Ptycha village (148km north-east of Lviv, Rivne region) the SMM spoke to representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as well as the head of the village council, all of whom said that the situation in the village was currently stable. The interlocutors also stated that there were still no religious services at the church and that police officers were present at all times near the church (see SMM Daily Report 24 December 2015). The SMM also followed up on media reports of issues with land allocation for construction of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church monastery in Ridkivtsi village (14km north-east of Chernivtsi, in Novoselytsia district). The SMM spoke to four representatives of the village council (two men and two women) who said that it was only the local branch of the Svoboda party that had publicly stated it would oppose. The councillors said that the plans were not causing controversy in the village and emphasised that there were no tensions between the three Christian communities represented in the village (Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Greek Catholic Church and an evangelical church).

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/214926>

10.01.2016

The SMM followed up on tensions between two religious communities in Ptycha village (148km north-east of Lviv, Rivne region; latest see: SMM Daily Report 6 January 2016). On 10 January, a representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church told the SMM that on the previous day a bus with approximately 20 pilgrims of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church parked near the church building and started singing religious songs. He said that after that local parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate started shaking the bus which ended when police intervened. The interlocutor added that the pilgrims were later beaten up by parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate when they held a procession through the village. According to the interlocutor, a woman was submitted to Dubno district hospital. The SMM will follow up on this incident.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/215381>

11.01.2016

The SMM continued to follow up on tensions between two religious communities in Ptycha village (148km north-east of Lviv, Rivne region; latest: see SMM Daily Report 11 January 2016). The SMM revisited the village and spoke with police officers guarding the Dormition church and the head of the Ptycha village council. Additionally, in Dubno (165km north-east of Lviv, Rivne region), the Mission spoke to representatives of the Dubno district police and the director of the Dubno district hospital. The interlocutors said that on 9 January 30–40 Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) pilgrims had arrived in Ptycha. According to the interlocutors, at 11:00hrs[2] on 9 January, the pilgrims and local UOC parishioners visited the Dormition church and had then held a procession around the village. Local parishioners from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) had followed them and verbal confrontations and a scuffle ensued. According to the Dubno police representative, the police had been called around 12:00hrs, after a UOC parishioner (woman, 35 years old) had been hit. According to the director of the Dubno hospital, the victim had been brought to the hospital promptly but was released on 11 January because no serious trauma had been diagnosed. The Dubno police representative told the SMM that it had opened an investigation into charges of ‘minor bodily injury’. Additionally, the SMM was told by the Dubno police representative that one police officer and one local man, both of whom had refused medical assistance, had been injured on 18 December (see SMM Daily Report 24 December 2015). In relation to that incident, the Rivne regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had opened an investigation into charges of hooliganism and resistance to police officers.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/215496>

14.01.2016

The SMM continued to follow up on tensions between two religious communities in Ptycha village (148km north-east of Lviv, Rivne region; latest: see SMM Daily Report 12 January). On 12 January, in Rivne city (211km north-east of Lviv), representatives of the Rivne regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told the SMM that 28 complaints and requests for assistance regarding the confrontation in Ptycha had been submitted to the police since April 2015, including eight criminal cases. The interlocutor added that police officers were presently guarding the church in Ptycha on a 24-hour basis until the tension finally subsides. Later on the same day, the SMM revisited Ptycha, where it observed a calm situation and several police officers inside two police vehicles parked in front of the church.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/216486>

20.01.2016

The SMM followed up on media reports about an alleged seizure of a church in Rivne region. A representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) told the SMM that on 17 January, members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) had not allowed UOC members entrance to the church in Krasnosillia (Hoshcha district, Rivne region, 211km north-east of Lviv). A representative of the Krasnosillia village council told the SMM that UOC-KP parishioners had changed the church’s lock claiming it had been damaged. The representative of the UOC-KP contacted by the SMM was reluctant to speak and could not provide local contacts details of the UOC-KP representatives. The SMM will follow up on this incident.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/217711>

12.02.2016

The SMM followed up on media reports about bomb threats in Rivne region (180km north-east of Lviv) and spoke to a representative of the regional police who confirmed bomb threats had been made against the Orthodox Holy Resurrection Cathedral and two against the Seminary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate. According to him, all sites had been searched and no explosives had been found.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/222181>

28.02.2016

Following up on media reports that premises of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) had been set on fire on the night of 21–22 February in Mykolaiv (36km south of Lviv), on 27 February the SMM visited the location. It saw burnt interior walls of the central church and partially burnt interior and exterior walls of another building. The SMM also observed that parishioners and residents (all men aged in 30–40) were conducting repair works to the interior walls of the central building. The residents, who were repairing, told the SMM that five or six bottles containing flammable liquid had been found next to the church door.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/225061>

05.04.2016

In Ptycha (148km north-east of Lviv), the SMM followed up on media reports about a roadblock that took place on 30 March, when members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) blocked the road E40 (Kyiv–Chop) for several hours demanding the police to obstruct Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) members from entering the village church (see SMM Daily Report 15 January). Meanwhile, parishioners of UOC-KP had announced that they would again block the road on 5 April, but the SMM did not see a roadblock. In front of the church the SMM saw two police cars and six police officers. In the area of the church the SMM noted a calm situation and saw 20 elderly women divided in two groups (according to a police officer, 15 persons were parishioners of UOC, while five were parishioners of UOC-KP). The head of the village council, confirming to the SMM the roadblock on 30 March, added that around five parishioners of UOC were inside the church at all the times.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/231601>

28.07.2016

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored the religious procession organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate. In the morning, the SMM saw some 2,000 people (predominantly middle-aged women) gather around the St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral and assessed that over 1,500 people were inside. The access to the cathedral grounds was controlled by police and National Guard officers operating metal detectors and searching those who were entering. Around mid-day, some 800 clerics exited the cathedral and led the procession of some 14,000 people along the Shevchenko Boulevard. The procession reached the Saint Volodymyr Hill (Volodymyrska Hirka) where a religious service was held. The SMM noted that Maidan self-defence activists—with insignia of the 10th Maidan sotnia—were assisting the police. The Ukrainian Red Cross was providing medical assistance to procession participants in the vicinity of the St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral. The SMM observed them assisting one elderly female who fainted and several other people who felt unwell, including a priest. The SMM estimated that there were in total approximately 1,800 uniformed personnel (police and National Guard) securing the events. Throughout the day and all along the route, the SMM noted a calm situation and all events passed off peacefully. Earlier that day, the SMM monitored a religious ceremony at the Pechersk Lavra monastery for participants of the religious procession organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (see SMM Daily Report, 27 July 2016) with about 200 participants (clergy and believers). The ceremony marked the closure of the religious procession. The SMM noted the presence of about 40 police officers at the entrance of the monastery.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/257106>

26.07.2016

In Kyiv, the SMM monitored a religious procession organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which had started on 3 July in Sviatohirsk monastery (660km east of Kyiv). A “Western Procession” (approximately 600 people, predominantly women and children) was temporarily blocked in the village of Dmytrivka (28km west of Kyiv) by National Police and the National Guard, citing security reasons (bomb alert). While in Dmytrivka, the SMM heard a distant explosion at 13:30. The co-ordinator of the procession told the SMM that two explosive devices had been found and one was neutralized by the police. The SMM also monitored an “Eastern Procession” (approximately 400 people, predominantly women and children), which had started on 9 July at the Pochaiv monastery (400km west of Kyiv). This group was escorted by 150–200 police officers as it proceeded towards Darnytski district, where the group reportedly planned to stay overnight. As the procession approached Boryspil (32km east of Kyiv), the SMM observed about 150 anti-procession demonstrators (men and women), holding Ukrainian and “Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists” flags, some of them yelling and throwing eggs, coins, and plastic bottles at the procession participants. The processions are due to arrive in Kyiv on 27 July.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/256621>

17.01.2017

The SMM followed up on media reports that petrol bombs were thrown at a Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) building in Kyiv. On Shchusieva Street the SMM saw scorch marks on the wooden façade of the church and on a window. A broken bottle and pieces of burnt cloth that smelt of petrol were nearby. A woman working at the church told the SMM that masked persons had thrown petrol bombs at the building at around 04:00 on the morning of 16 January.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/294606>

17.05.2017

The SMM followed up on alleged incidents affecting religious communities. On 17 May in Kharkiv, the SMM spoke with representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) who said that during the day, three men had entered the churchyard and slashed car tyres. In the yard of the church, the SMM saw two vehicles with punctured tyres and scratches on their rear windshields. The SMM also spoke with the police in Kharkiv who confirmed that the incident had been reported.

The SMM also followed up on an alleged takeover of a church building of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by the UOC-KP in Kynakhivtsi village (125km north-east of Ivano-Frankivsk). The police in Ternopil informed the SMM that on 15 May, followers of the UOC-KP had forced open the back door of the church in Kynakhivtsi, entered it and conducted a religious service. The police also said that there had been altercations between a priest of the UOC-KP and a priest of the UOC, as well as among several dozen followers from the two religious communities. The police told the SMM that the church building is now under the control of UOC-KP and that there was no permanent police presence in the village. The SMM heard the same reports separately from representatives of the Ternopil Eparchy of UOC, the Ternopil Eparchy of UOC-KP, and the Department of Internal Politics, Religions and Nationalities in Ternopil.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine/318166>

18.05.2017

The SMM monitored peaceful gatherings in Kyiv and Kherson. On 18 May in Kyiv the SMM monitored a gathering near the national Parliament building of some 2,500 people (of mixed ages and gender, including clergy), organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Participants were protesting against two draft laws on the status of religious communities and religious organizations pending in Parliament. The SMM saw about 300 National Police and National Guard officers present, as well as 21 police and National Guard buses and three camouflage-coloured National Guard trucks parked nearby. The gathering took place peacefully.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine/318451>

04.06.2017

On 4 June, the SMM monitored the march of six UGCC priests and about 25 laypeople (both men and women, mostly elderly) at 12:30 from the centre of Kolomyia (51km south-east of Ivano-Frankivsk) to a small wooden church where about 30 Right Sector members and about 20 “Black 100” members, all wearing T-shirts with organization names and emblems, joined them. Seven police officers accompanied the march, and over 20 more subsequently arrived at the site over the next few hours. The UGCC priests conducted a service outside the church, while a Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) mass took place inside, which was broadcast over a loud speaker in the church courtyard. Afterward, the priests entered the church, with a small group of laypeople, and conducted another service, also broadcast by loud speaker into the courtyard. Members of both communities remained within the church, chanting and praying. Aside from a brief period of shouting outside the church, the SMM did not observe any incidents between the communities. At around 17:00, about 20 Right Sector members attempted to enter the church but were stopped by police, who had lined up in two rows in front of the church. The deputy head of the Kolomyia city police and a UOC representative told the SMM that the church was sealed at 20:00 by police and that members of both church communities as well as Right Sector and “Black 100” had all left the premises.

Quelle: <http://www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine/321551>