MP backs petition to ban UOC broadcasts in Rivne

Solomiia Bobrovska. Photo: Facebook

On March 19, 2026, MP Solomiia Bobrovska openly came out in favor of restricting the rights of believers in Rivne, backing an initiative to ban the sound amplification of services of the canonical Church. On her Facebook page, she said she considered it unacceptable for UOC services held in the basement of the Holy Resurrection Cathedral to be broadcast aloud.

The trigger for the politician’s sharp remarks was an electronic petition registered on the city council’s website. The author of the appeal demands a ban on the use of sound-amplifying equipment during the prayers of the UOC community. Bobrovska described the situation as “religious schizophrenia,” expressing outrage that alongside the Ukrainian language, Church Slavonic could also be heard in the cathedral.

In the MP’s view, the language in which the UOC flock prays is, de facto, “an instrument of Russian influence.” She stressed that she shares the “active stance of Rivne residents” seeking to limit the Church’s audible presence in the public space, and reproached local officials for their passivity. According to Bobrovska, the authorities had been “turning a blind eye” to the parish’s activities for far too long, and now supposedly find it “comfortable to live” with such a church presence.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Bobrovska had described the Rivne Eparchy’s aid to children with cancer as a threat to state security.

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