In Odesa region, OCU cleric stages provocation at AFU soldier's funeral

OCU clergy at the funeral of an AFU soldier in the village of Novoselivka, Odesa region. Photo: a screenshot from Facebook video

In the village of Novoselivka, Odesa region, an OCU member stages a provocation during the funeral of the AFU soldier Flaviy Lianka. Information about the incident was actively spread in the media, falsely accusing the UOC of disrespecting the fallen soldier. However, the situation was presented in a completely distorted manner.

On September 17, 2025, the villagers bid farewell to the 27-year-old soldier who died in the Zaporizhzhia region back in 2023. According to some information, he was listed as missing. However, as reported to the UOJ, the soldier's funeral service, at the request of the relatives, was performed in absentia last year. When his body was recently returned to Ukraine, the family arranged with a UOC priest to conduct a memorial service.

However, according to a UOJ source, at the last moment, the mother of the deceased refused the participation of the UOC priest and invited an OCU chaplain. The reason was an unspoken rule that the state pays for the funerals of only those soldiers who are buried by OCU chaplains. Flaviy's mother had to do this because she had no money for the funeral.

After the OCU funeral service, the procession with the body headed to the cemetery. On the way, near the UOC church, which was closed at the time, a provocation was organized, which was presented on social media as a "refusal to allow entry into the church".

The main organizer of the provocation was OCU cleric Vladyslav Shyman, who had previously defected from the UOC to Dumenko's structure, and who claimed on his Facebook page that the local priest allegedly prohibited bringing the defender's body into the church.

"No one asked to open the church for the funeral service because it had already been performed. We were ready to conduct a memorial service, but the family was persuaded by OCU representatives. What happened at the church gates was a pre-planned scenario to discredit the UOC," say UOC community representatives.

Local residents confirm that the church grounds were open, but the church itself was locked, as there were no services that day.

As the UOJ previously wrote, the Bulgarian Patriarch stated that there are very significant obstacles to recognizing the OCU.

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