In Kyiv, construction of a UGCC church resumes despite residents' protests
In the Obolon district of Kyiv, preparatory work for the construction of a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has resumed despite residents' protests. This was reported by the Obolonlife Telegram channel.
A new fence and a project passport have already been installed on the site, according to which construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026 and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027. Work has resumed despite the fact that in 2024, electronic petition No. 12936 to the Kyiv City Council (Kyivrada), "Stop construction in the Obolon square on Pivnichna Street," gathered the required 6,000 signatures. The authors of the petition demanded that construction be halted due to the site's proximity to residential buildings, a kindergarten, and a children's clinic.
The legal matter remains unresolved: the Kyiv District Administrative Court is hearing a lawsuit filed by the public organization "Holos Oboloni," which is seeking to annul the Kyiv City Council's decision to transfer the land plot to the religious community, as well as to cancel the urban planning conditions and the construction permit. After the appellate court overturned the previous decision to return the lawsuit, the case is once again before the court of first instance.
Following a meeting with residents of Pivnichna Street held on Thursday, the parties agreed to hold a public discussion of the construction project. The city authorities were represented at the meeting by Kyiv City Council deputy from the "Servant of the People" party for the Obolon district, Yevhen Kuzmenko, who publicly expressed support for the Uniate church construction project. The parties also agreed that, pending the public discussion, the community would not take any unlawful or forcible actions regarding the property at 10 Pivnichna Street, and that the developer and church representatives would refrain from any construction work.
A recent poll conducted in the Obolonlife Telegram channel among district residents showed that out of more than 3,700 respondents, the majority voted against resuming construction, while only about one-tenth of respondents expressed support for the project.
As the SPJ previously reported, a petition to transfer a school building to Catholics in Odesa gathered 25,000 signatures. Initiatives related to land and property for Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic communities have repeatedly sparked public controversy in various cities across Ukraine in recent years.
