Metropolitan Longin speaks of abuse of his son by draft officers

Metropolitan Longin. Photo: screenshot from the Bancheny Monastery's YouTube channel

During a Sunday sermon at the Bancheny Monastery on May 10, 2026, Metropolitan Longin spoke about the incidence of cruel treatment of clergy and members of his family by representatives of state structures. The hierarch said that law enforcement officers detained his son and subjected him to abuse throughout the night. According to the metropolitan, the actions of the authorities crossed the boundaries of both legality and humanity.

Metropolitan Longin described what he called shocking details of pressure exerted on believers in order to fulfill mobilization quotas.

“When they took my son, they beat him all night, filled bottles with water and sand, and beat him the entire night. These are barbarians – this is the destruction of Ukraine, a genocide of the Ukrainian people!” the hierarch declared.

He also spoke of the abuse of a UOC priest who, according to him, was forced to dig a two-meter pit, thrown into it, and doused with water until morning.

According to the metropolitan, security officers are using “medieval methods” to obtain signatures on mobilization documents.

“Needles under fingernails so that they would sign that they are voluntarily going to war. Is this really an army?” Metropolitan Longin asked. He stated that he possesses video evidence of the alleged abuses.

The hierarch also recalled that such actions, in his view, grossly violate Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which guarantees freedom of religion. He added that he himself has spent four years under judicial investigation on what he described as fabricated charges involving “dead souls” listed as victims.

“They have been putting me on trial for four years, while the people whom I supposedly offended are either dead or those surnames do not exist at all. This is lawlessness,” the bishop stated.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Longin had appealed to President Zelensky over the actions of draft officers.

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