Authorities strip UOC community of St Michael’s Church in Krasnokutsk

Archangel Michael Church in Krasnokutsk. Photo: Wikipedia

On January 27, 2026, the Kharkiv prosecutor’s office reported that the St Michael community of the UOC in Krasnokutsk, Kharkiv region, had been deprived of ownership rights to its church. The prosecutor’s press service called the decision “the protection of historical heritage.”

They stated that the church “had been unlawfully registered as the property of the religious community back in 2005”.

On October 29, 2025, the Commercial Court of Kharkiv Region granted the prosecutor’s claim and transferred the church to the state. In January 2026, the UOC community’s ownership rights were officially terminated.

“This case demonstrates that protecting cultural heritage is not a formality, but a real struggle for our history. Every landmark is a preserved particle of Ukraine that we pass from generation to generation, therefore state property must remain state property,” emphasized Yevheniia Domashyna, head of a department of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the authorities in Baturyn forced the nuns of the St Nicholas Monastery out onto the street.

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