Cherkasy authorities set up surveillance over Orthodox educational institution

Head of the GUNP sector in the Cherkasy region Serhiy Popko

The village of Cherniavka, 30 kilometers from Cherkasy, has become a place where law enforcement officers are attempting to stage an entire special operation against an Orthodox educational institution providing tutoring services, reports kozakTv1.

On the evening of January 13, 2026, Kateryna Dehtiarenko, the owner of the territory where the gymnasium is located, received a call from an investigator who informed her of the intention to conduct certain "inspections" of the individual entrepreneur. Allegedly, they are now "checking" all individual entrepreneurs and legal entities on their sites.

On January 14, Serhiy Popko, head of the sector of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Cherkasy region, arrived at the scene. The police officer began asking questions regarding property rights to the territory, which can be easily verified in registries accessible to the police. He then tried to find out the surnames of children studying with Orthodox teachers.

A particular absurdity of this operation is underscored by the fact that a car with unidentified individuals had been parked nearby the entire time. Popko refused to check these suspicious people, so local residents decided to approach the vehicle themselves. The car immediately drove off, and, according to eyewitnesses, the people inside almost began putting on masks. According to the source, they may have been SBU officers monitoring the interaction.

Later, "electricians" arrived at the scene and performed certain manipulations with a pole standing next to the territory where the educational facilities are located. As it turned out later, they installed a hidden surveillance camera on the pole, directed straight at the entrance to the educational building.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the SBU and Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case because of a UOC monastery's school.

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