Mobilized UOC Cleric Goes Missing After Contact with SBU at Training Ground

Priest Andriy Denysenko. Photo: t.me/nikita_chekman

Contact has been lost with Ukrainian Orthodox Church priest Andriy Denysenko after he was taken from a training ground by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine. This was reported by Archpriest Nikita Chekman.

According to Father Andriy's wife, on June 25, 2026, the priest was detained at the "Bykivnia" checkpoint by patrol police officers and brought to the Dniprovskyi district territorial recruitment center. He was later sent to the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, where he underwent training. The priest last made contact on July 26, after which, according to a fellow serviceman, the personnel were sent to a training ground.

Some time later, the wife was informed that approximately five days earlier, SBU officers had taken Father Andriy directly from the training ground. According to a fellow serviceman, the priest underwent a polygraph examination, after which SBU officers stated they had additional questions for him and removed him from the military unit along with his personal belongings.

As Archpriest Nikita Chekman notes, the relatives have not yet been informed of Father Andriy's whereabouts, the legal grounds for his detention, or his procedural status.

According to the lawyer, the legal team has already begun handling the case. It is planned to submit attorney requests, statements, and appeals to the competent authorities in order to establish the cleric's whereabouts, clarify the legal grounds for his detention, and verify that his constitutional rights are being observed.

As the UOJ previously reported, lawyers had earlier appealed to the State Bureau of Investigations and police over the abduction of a UOC cleric in Lutsk by the TRC.

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