EP reported severe beating of UOC priests by militants in Chernivtsi

European Parliamentarian Luis Lazarus. Photo: Lazarus's Facebook

On June 18, 2025, Romanian MEP Luis Lazarus, speaking in the European Parliament, criticized the beating of priests of the Holy Spirit Cathedral (UOC) in Chernivtsi by militants. In his speech, he stressed that the clergy of Romanian origin were affected.

"Mr. President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, yesterday in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, priests, Orthodox priests of the Romanian community, were beaten. Last year, Metropolitan Longin was beaten, and he has been dragged through sham trials for years. The Romanian minority has always been oppressed in Ukraine," the parliamentarian stated.

He stressed that Ukraine aspires to join the EU but at the same time violates human rights.

"We constantly talk about LGBT minorities, but we do not talk about such an important minority as the Romanian one– over half a million people from Ukraine," Lazarus stated.

In comments on Facebook, the deputy criticized the talks about Ukraine's admission to the EU. "Isn't it enough how foolishly they behave with our Romanians there?" he wrote.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Romanian media widely reported about the attempted seizure of the Chernivtsi cathedral.

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