Raiders storm into church house in Ladyzhyn, beating up priest and believers

Raiders beat up a UOC priest in Ladyzhyn. Photo: Screenshot of video t.me/kozakTv1

On April 2, 2024, a group of unidentified individuals broke into the territory of the church house where parishioners of the seized Kazan Icon of the Mother of God UOC temple in Ladyzhyn, Vinnytsia Oblast, were praying. The criminals broke locks, vandalized the building where the UOC parish found refuge, and beat the priest and believers. This was reported on the Dozor_kozak1 Telegram channel.

In the video, it can be seen that the raiders, upon entering the premises, immediately attacked the church's rector Father Yevhen Vorobiev and parishioners of the temple.

They began beating the believers, while the clergyman was first knocked to the ground, and then, while beating him, dragged him out onto the street.

"Representatives of the police were present at the scene, but remained completely inactive," the message said. "The raiders pushed Orthodox Christians outside the territory of the house and blocked the entrance. All attackers tried to cover their faces and prevent their identification."

For three months, Orthodox Christians were forced to pray in an adapted premises after the bloody storming of their sanctuary.

As the UOJ reported, on January 9, a group of raiders in military uniforms broke into the temple's territory. Using construction equipment, they rammed the doors of the church, and then attacked parishioners and clergy. During the next attack by "activists" of the OCU on the Kazan temple in Ladyzhyn on December 28, the rector and about 10 parishioners, including women, were injured. However, the police saw no crimes in the UOC temple's storming and were forced to initiate criminal proceedings only after a court decision.

Read also

DESS: The number of communities joining OCU in 2024 is half of last year’s

Over a year, 232 communities of the UOC changed their jurisdiction.

Scale of internal damage to UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia shown online

The video allows viewers to assess the damage endured by the main Orthodox church of the UOC in Zaporizhzhia.

Ex-MP UOC protodeacon Novinsky declared suspicion of high treason

The former MP is accused of "ensuring that a significant part of Ukrainian society, who are believers of the UOC, remain under the direct influence of the leader of the ROC".

St Andrew’s icon survives under the rubble of UOC cathedral in Zaporizhzhia

The icon was painted by nuns of the St Nicholas Monastery in Patras (Greece) and consecrated on the relics of St Andrew the Apostle.

RF missile strike destroys St Andrew's Cathedral of UOC in Zaporizhzhia

The fragments damaged the roof of the building, dome, ceilings, cut windows and disfigured classrooms.

Media shows conditions in which persecuted communities of Volyn have to pray

After their churches were seized, UOC faithful are compelled to pray in poorly equipped facilities.