No word for three months on monk abducted from UOC monastery in Lyman
Archimandrite Avakum, a resident of the Protection Monastery in Lyman. Photo: UOJ
For a third month, there has been no information about the fate of Archimandrite Avakum, a resident of the UOC Protection Monastery in the city of Lyman, Donetsk Region, who was abducted by unidentified men in military uniforms.
According to sources cited by Pershyi Kozatskyi, reports about the archimandrite’s abduction were submitted to the police, the State Bureau of Investigation, the prosecutor’s office and other law enforcement agencies. However, there has still been no information about the monk’s whereabouts or condition.
The sources also said that after the archimandrite disappeared, representatives of the 3rd Assault Corps came to the monastery. They took the monks’ phones and the Starlink terminal, leaving the monastery with virtually no means of communication.
Earlier, the UOJ learned that in June 2026, men in military uniforms entered the Protection Monastery, forcibly took the clergyman away and drove him to an unknown location.
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