Door of Kazan Church of UOC in Ladyzhyn broken by OCU raiders

One of the bulldozers used by militants to storm the UOC church in Ladyzhyn. Photo: UOJ

Parishioners of the UOC church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the city of Ladyzhyn, Vinnytsia Oblast, informed the editorial office of the UOJ how the raiders seized the shrine.

At 5:15 in the morning, about 30 OCU raiders, mostly dressed in camouflage uniforms, cut the locks on the gates and entered the church territory. They brought two bulldozers that destroyed the concrete barriers protecting the church doors. One of the bulldozers, the stormtroopers broke the door into the vestibule and burst into the church.

The rector of the parish, Protopriest Yevgeny Vorobyov, and two male parishioners who guarded the church after the previous attempt to seize it were attacked, beaten, their hands were twisted, and they were taken out onto the street without outerwear. Women in the church refused to leave voluntarily, and the raiders pulled them out through the altar.

The invaders ripped out the wires and de-energized the church house. While on the church grounds, they smoked and used foul language. Parishioners who began to gather at the church recognized among them a PR specialist from the MHP company, which previously organized a raiders' meeting in Ladyzhyn to transfer the Kazan church to the OCU. "Priests" of the OCU also appeared at the scene, but parishioners did not let them near the church.

Some of the believers, together with the rector, managed to enter the church grounds; the rest were not let in by the police. Father Yevgeny was knocked down by people in camouflage, then he was taken away in an unknown direction by the police. There is currently no communication with him.

Parishioners cannot enter the church – some of the militants locked themselves inside. At the same time, the invaders try to provoke clashes: they write on social networks that UOC believers do not let them out of the church and call for their supporters to help.

As reported by the UOJ, on December 28, 2023, OCU raiders tried to seize the Kazan Church of the UOC in Ladyzhyn, but believers managed to defend the shrine.

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