Irpin City Council dismisses mayor who persecuted UOC
Oleksandr Markushyn. Photo: Markushyn's Facebook
The Irpin City Council in the Kyiv region voted on July 29, 2025, to terminate the powers of Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn. A majority of deputies voted no confidence in Markushyn, who, through illegal gatherings of outsiders in Irpin, "transferred" all UOC churches to the OCU. This was reported by "Suspilne".
The day before, the official wrote on Facebook that during the City Council session, the so-called raiders "are implementing another attempt to seize power in Irpin," trying to transfer the mayor's powers to the secretary.
Oleksandr Markushyn organized and supported the seizures of the Trinity, St. George's, St. Nicholas's, and Resurrection Churches of the UOC in the city, as well as St. Michael's Church in the suburb of Irpin - the village of Mykhailivka-Rubezhivka. Under his leadership, the Irpin City Council also appealed to Zelensky to ban the UOC.
As reported by the UOJ, on January 23, 2025, the Pechersk Court sent the mayor of Irpin to a pre-trial detention center until March 22, and he was suspended from office during this time. Markushyn was charged with illegal border crossing.
Moreover, in 2024, the mayor of Irpin was involved in corruption scandals. City deputies accused him of falsifying City Council decisions, embezzling the local budget through the registration of "dead souls," and kickbacks from the salaries of executive committee employees.
Read also
UOC believers in Rivne region hold procession to Derman monastery
About 500 pilgrims walked to the Holy Trinity Monastery in the Rivne region on the feast day of St. Hierotheus of Ostroh.
Pilgrims from UOC’s Khust Eparchy meet Patriarch Theophilos in Jerusalem
A group of UOC faithful from Zakarpattia visited the holy sites of the Holy Land and received the archpastoral blessing of the Primate of the Jerusalem Church.
UOC parishioners at Kyiv’s Demiivka church defend their rights in court
The rector of the Demiivka parish said documents relating to the church had been falsified and asked for prayers ahead of the second court hearing.
Prosecutor in Metropolitan Theodosiy case named in NABU tapes
A deputy head of the Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor’s Office who was involved in the case against Metropolitan Theodosiy has been named in an anti-corruption investigation.
Serbian Patriarch offers condolences over murder of Sviatohirsk Lavra monk
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church called Sviatohirsk Lavra a refuge for the displaced and urged that the monk’s violent death not be turned into anyone’s weapon.