In Minkivtsi, OCU raiders cut the locks and seize UOC church

Seizure of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in the village of Minkivtsi. Photo: video screenshot / Dozor

On October 4, 2025, a group of OCU raiders seized the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in the village of Minkivtsi, Rivne region. This was reported by the Dozor Telegram channel.

Representatives of the OCU decided not to wait for a court ruling on the illegal re-registration of the church.

Activists of Dumenko’s structure arrived at the holy site with falsified documents and cut the locks on the church doors.

According to reports from the scene, the seizure was directed by Valeriy Ostapchuk, who is listed in the Dumenko group’s documents as the “director of the church.”

Dozor noted that police officers present on the scene behaved in an openly rude manner toward Orthodox clergy and refused to allow UOC parishioners into their own church.

Right before their eyes, the raiders broke down the church doors while the law enforcement officers merely stood by and watched.

As the UOJ previously reported, in Minkivtsi an illegal meeting “transferred” the UOC parish to the OCU. Later, during another attempt to seize the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, OCU representatives assaulted a wounded Ukrainian serviceman.

Recall that the OCU has had its own premises in the village since 2008. According to local residents, they have never once gathered there since its registration.

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