Video shows police assisting raiders in Verkhni Stanivtsi

Police formed a human corridor for OCU supporters in Verkhni Stanivtsi. Photo: video screenshot t.me/orthobuk

On April 12, 2025, police actively assisted OCU raiders in seizing the St. Nicholas Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Verkhni Stanivtsi, Bukovyna. According to UOC parishioners from the Chernivtsi Eparchy on Facebook, some officers even used force against the faithful.

A video posted on the Facebook page of Orthodox Bukovynians shows police standing by idly during the unlawful entry of OCU supporters onto church grounds.

Moreover, law enforcement not only refrained from intervening but effectively allowed the church doors to be broken down. After the breach, police formed a human corridor, allowing OCU supporters to enter the church while barring access to UOC believers.

“Police are using physical force against UOC faithful,” the parishioners reported. “UOC believers are being subjected to obscene language from law enforcement officers.”

Orthodox Bukovinians also noted that Sviatoslav Kyshlar, head of the Preventive Activities Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Chernivtsi Region, took part in the seizure. He was among the first, along with OCU representatives, to enter the church grounds during the raid.

Kyshlar had previously been seen near the Chernivtsi Eparchy’s cathedral, where believers have held continuous prayer vigils in protest of a potential violent takeover. He also personally participated in the seizure of the UOC’s Archangel Michael Church in Zadubrivka and used force against parishioners at the UOC’s Dormition Church in Mykhalcha.

As the UOJ previously reported, the OCU seized the UOC church in Verkhni Stanivtsi with police assistance.

Read also