News Feed

Media: Ukrainian church seized in occupied Crimea

1 min read

Russia has seized a church in occupied Crimea belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, media outlet Krym Realii reported on May 11.

Andrii Shchekun, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Krymska Svetlytsia, said that Russia had "broken down the doors of the church" and stolen property from the church premises.

The seizure of the church was managed by Yevgen Novikov, a bailiff in Moscow, according to Shchekun.

Russian authorities have yet to comment on the situation.

The European Court of Human Rights previously appealed to Russian authorities regarding the persecution of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Crimea, to which Russian authorities responded there was no religious persecution, Krym Realii wrote.

Russia has occupied Crimea since it annexed the peninsula in 2014 in the wake of the Euromaidan Revolution that ousted then-pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Since the start of the full-scale war, Russia has been using Crimea to launch missiles against Ukraine and as a logistic route to transfer equipment to the southern battlefield.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed
Video

The Kyiv Independent’s Jared Goyette speaks with foreign policy analyst Ivan Fechko about Venezuela’s political crisis following the U.S. attack and kidnapping of dictator Nicolás Maduro — and why it marks a major strategic setback for Russia in Latin America and globally.

 (Updated:  )

President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Cyprus to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, and top EU officials, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said on Jan. 7.

Show More