Verkhni Stanyvtsi. Police assisted in the seizure of the St. Nicholas Church of the UOC.

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church of the UOC

Address: Chernivtsi Region, village of Verkhni Stanyvtsi, 1 Tserkovna Street.

The parishioners and clergy of the St. Nicholas Church of the UOC faced an unprecedented level of terror from activists of the OCU and law enforcement agencies.

From the moment a group of OCU raiders made the parish their target, UOC believers were forced to confront alone a criminal alliance of raiders and law enforcement officers.

At night, hired OCU militants invaded the church grounds, and in the morning the police carried out demonstrative pressure on the parishioners.

As a result, following a brutal assault, the church was seized.

Attempts to seize the St. Nicholas Church began on February 2, 2025, when OCU cleric Roman Hryshchuk organized illegal meetings of the territorial community in the village.

A group of people who had no connection whatsoever to the parish voted for transferring the church to the OCU.

(Source: SPZh)

On the night of April 8, 2025, a group of masked militants led by Roman Hryshchuk broke into the church grounds.

The raiders attacked the parishioners and broke the locks

Orthodox Christians sustained serious injuries. A young female parishioner received a laceration to her forehead as a result of a blow from a wooden stick wielded by an OCU raider.

The criminal group planned to barricade themselves inside the church and wait for reinforcements. Among the militants, OCU cleric Roman Hryshchuk was identified, carefully concealing his face.

It later emerged that Hryshchuk had brought militants from the nationalist organization “Tryzub named after Stepan Bandera” onto the church grounds.

The police confiscated bladed weapons from the attackers.

Despite police inaction, the raiders were driven out of the church.

On April 11, 2025, the police carried out a raid in Verkhni Stanyvtsi.

The village was completely blocked off, and parishioners and clergy were summoned for interrogations throughout the day.

Police officers went door to door to the homes of UOC faithful, paying particular attention to men. Houses were photographed. Eyewitnesses report that no one visited the few local OCU activists.

On April 12, 2025, another assault on the church took place.

By midday, OCU activists from other localities began arriving at the church grounds. Police were also present.

OCU activists broke a section of the fence and stormed the church territory. Along with them came police officers, who pushed the church community aside and formed a corridor for the raiders and militants.