In Baturyn, armed police "guard" convent from nuns and parishioners
Sisters of the St. Nicholas Krupytsky Convent of the UOC and local believers have been denied entry to the monastery grounds for hours, which has been turned into a restricted facility.
The sisters of the St. Nicholas Krupytsky Convent of the UOC, turned into a "restricted facility", in the village of Osich near Baturyn, Chernihiv region, report that they are essentially living under conditions of constant power control. Video from the scene is published by Telegram channel "Dozor".
Every day the nuns have to wait 20-30 minutes while the guards receive permission to let them onto the grounds. Local residents are forbidden from providing food and assistance to the sisters.
On February 7, police together with government representatives conducted searches in the convent cellars where food is stored and hung new locks on them. Sources claim that law enforcement officers said they were searching for weapons and explosives, while failing to present the relevant warrants.
It is also noted that the security police live in the nuns' cells, use electricity that the sisters have to pay for, since the line is registered in the name of the abbess of the monastery.
On February 9, Abbess Dorofeya with the sisters came to the monastery to collect their belongings. Local residents who wished to enter the monastery were waiting for them at the gates, but the entrance was blocked by three armed police officers who "guard" the convent from its residents and parishioners.
Orthodox Christians were forced to stand outside in freezing temperatures for more than an hour and a half. As it became clear later, access to the monastery was closed due to the presence on its grounds of the director of the National Reserve “Hetman’s Capital” and government representatives. The abbess blocked the exit gate with her car, which angered the director, and a man accompanying her called the police.
The arriving police unit obliged the reserve management to allow the sisters into the convent to collect their belongings, and accepted a statement from the abbess about the illegal actions of the guards and director.
On the same day, according to information from "Dozor" sources, the seals were broken off the locks on the garages, which are the convent's property.
As the UOJ wrote, Baturyn authorities forced the nuns of St. Nicholas Convent out onto the street.
