In Smila, military commissariat officers abduct UOC priest Oleksii Lukash

The rector of the church in honor of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Cherkasy in Smila, Priest Aleksey Lukash. Photo: Telegram channel "Pervyi Kazatskyi"

On November 6, 2025, in the city of Smila (Cherkasy region), officers of the local Military Recruitment Center (TRC) forcibly took away the rector of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s parish in honor of the New Martyrs of Cherkasy, Priest Oleksii Lukash, reports the First Cossack Telegram channel.

According to sources, the military entered the church during the service and did not allow the priest even to hand over the Holy Gifts. After his detention, Fr. Oleksii was taken to the Cherkasy TRC, despite having previously undergone a medical commission and being deemed only partially fit for service due to hypertension.

At present, the priest is not in contact. Representatives of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the UOC have not been provided with any documents confirming either his priestly status or the legality of his detention. The priest’s wife was forced to call the police in an attempt to deliver her husband life-essential medication.

According to parishioners, Fr. Oleksii ministered to the faithful of the In Cathedral who refused to join the OCU after its former rector, Petro Dmytruk, went over to the schismatics and the church was seized with the help of armed militants. The believers describe Fr. Oleksii as the last spiritual support of their community.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that an OCU blogger publicly stated he saw no sin in military officers capturing people and claimed that hiding from mobilization was “abnormal.”

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