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.

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