Court in Rivne region fines man over posts about OCU
The man was found guilty of inciting religious hatred over Facebook posts and fined UAH 3,400.
On April 28, 2026, the Volodymyrets district court in Rivne region fined a local resident over Facebook posts deemed to incite religious hatred, Rivne Vechirnie reported.
According to case materials, from October 2025 to January 2026, Dmytro Kovalchuk shared posts on his page containing offensive remarks about OCU believers, as well as claims about the “exceptionality” of the UOC.
During the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers seized the man’s mobile phone, which had been used to publish the content. The defendant pleaded guilty and explained that he had been expressing his own religious beliefs.
The court found him guilty under Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – incitement of religious hatred – and imposed a fine of UAH 3,400.
The ruling may be appealed.
As previously reported by the UOJ, the Supreme Court opened appellate proceedings in the case of the UOC’s Korets Monastery.
