Khust Eparchy priest who shot people in Vyshkovo banned from ministry

Part of priestly vestments. Illustrative photo: pravlife

The Khust Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has notified police that it has banned from priesthood a cleric suspected of shooting and killing three people in the village of Vyshkovo in Transcarpathia. This was reported to Ukrinform by the police of the Transcarpathian region.

According to law enforcement officials, on October 15, 2026, police received a statement from the diocese reporting that the priest involved in the shooting be prohibited from conducting services. Three people were killed and two others were injured in the shooting.

The Khust Eparchy has been published an address on its official Telegram page, in which it expresses its grief and condolences to the families of the victims and calls for intensified prayers for the repose of the souls of those killed and for the recovery of the injured.

The shooting took place on October 15 at about 4:00 p.m. in Vyshkovo, Khust district. Police established that a 45-year-old local resident, who was a UOC clergyman, was involved in the crime. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the man walked along the street and shot at passersby with a rifle.

Two village residents, aged 62 and 64, died at the scene. Later, an 84-year-old woman with a chest wound died in hospital. Two other victims remain under doctors' supervision, one of them in serious condition.

As the UOJ reported, earlier firefighters saved an ancient UOC church in the village of Uhlia in Transcarpathia.

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