Expropriation of the UOC Nikol'sky Krupytsky Monastery by the Ukrainian Authorities
Expropriation of the UOC St. Nicholas Krupytsky Monastery
Address: Chernihiv Oblast, village of Osych.
The UOC St. Nicholas Krupytsky Monastery has become the latest victim in a campaign of expropriation of church property by representatives of the Ukrainian authorities.
In violation of the law, the monastery's nuns were not granted a renewal of the lease agreement for a portion of the premises. The church and the nuns' cells were forcibly transferred to the National Nature Reserve "Hetman's Capital."
A restricted-access facility was established on the monastery's grounds. Armed police officers are permanently present on the premises and restrict the nuns' freedom of movement.
Moreover, with the assistance of law enforcement officers, the reserve seized premises that are documented as belonging to the monastery.
On January 27, 2026, the director of the National Historical and Cultural Reserve "Hetman's Capital," with the participation of police officers, unlawfully and without any court order evicted the sisters of the Baturyn Krupytsky St. Nicholas Women's Monastery onto the street.
The nuns have no other housing besides the monastery cells in which they are officially registered. Nevertheless, they were turned out into the street, and the doors of the church and the residential building were sealed.
As attorney Nikita Cheman notes, a premises-use agreement had been concluded between the monastery and the reserve, with a term running until January 27, 2026. However, for the duration of martial law, pursuant to Resolution No. 634 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated May 27, 2022, the user (lessee) is entitled to an automatic extension of the agreement. No court rulings terminating the right of use or ordering eviction exist.
Accordingly, the attorney identifies elements of criminal offenses in the actions of the reserve's director and other persons involved, specifically:
Article 356 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – arbitrary conduct;
Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of authority or official powers.
Father Nikita also presented photographs showing the dilapidated condition of the monastery when it was transferred to the UOC, and how it looks today.
On January 28, Abbess Dorofeia of the Krupytsky St. Nicholas Monastery described the seizure of the monastery by officials of the National Historical and Cultural Reserve "Hetman's Capital" with the participation of police officers on January 27, 2026.
According to Abbess Dorofeia, representatives of the Baturyn Reserve arrived at the monastery accompanied by armed police officers. They demanded that the nuns "voluntarily" hand over the property and vacate the premises; however, the residents refused to sign any documents.
Afterward, the security forces sealed the cells and outbuildings, including those that belong to the monastery and are not part of any state facilities. The nuns were driven out into the freezing cold, and the doors to the church were broken down.
Representatives of the monastery stated that the actions were carried out without a court order or prior notice. The sisters were left without access to the church and one of the residential buildings where they had been living.
The abbess emphasized that the monastery had been restored from ruins by the nuns.
"My monastery has always been small in number. There were five of us; one departed to the Lord, and now there are four. And these 5 nuns — we raised this monastery from ruins… And everything we were able to do in this life has now ended up in the hands of strangers," she said.
The nuns found shelter in the abbess's small building, and Mother Dorofeia refused to sign any of their documents.
Abbess Dorofeia addressed the President and Congress of the United States with a request to stop the lawlessness being perpetrated against Orthodox believers.
"I will not leave. And my sisters will not leave. Because this is our home. This is the place of our repose, of our humble labors," she said.
On February 7, 2026, police together with government representatives conducted searches of the monastery's storage cellars, where food supplies are kept, and placed new locks on them. Sources from the "DOZOR on the First Cossack" project claim that the security forces cited a search for weapons and explosives while producing no corresponding warrants.
It is also noted that police officers are living in the nuns' cells and using electrical power, the cost of which the sisters are forced to bear, since the supply line is registered in the abbess's name.
The sisters of the UOC St. Nicholas Krupytsky Monastery — transformed into a "restricted-access facility" — in the village of Osych near Baturyn (Chernihiv Oblast) report that they are effectively living under conditions of constant armed control.
Every day the nuns are made to wait 20–30 minutes for the guards to receive permission to allow them onto the grounds. Local residents are prohibited from bringing the sisters food or other assistance.
On February 9, 2026, Abbess Dorofeia and her sisters came to the monastery to collect their belongings.
Local residents wishing to enter the monastery were waiting at the gates; however, the entrance was blocked by three armed police officers who are "guarding" the monastery from its own residents and parishioners.
Orthodox Christians were forced to stand in the freezing cold for more than an hour and a half. As it later emerged, access to the monastery had been restricted due to the presence on its grounds of the director of the national reserve "Hetman's Capital" and government representatives. The abbess effectively blocked the exit through the gates with her vehicle, which angered the director, and a man accompanying her called the police.
The arriving police unit ordered the reserve's management to allow the sisters into the monastery to collect their belongings, and accepted from the abbess a complaint regarding the unlawful actions of the guards and the director.
On the same day, according to "Dozor" sources, the seals were broken off the locks on the monastery garages, which are the property of the monastery.
On February 10, 2026, employees of the state museum refused to return personal property belonging to the sisters of the UOC St. Nicholas Krupytsky Monastery, despite the existence of relevant supporting documents.
It is noted that a significant number of personal liturgical items belonging to the monastery's residents remain in the monastery, which has been expropriated by the authorities and the state reserve.
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According to sources, among the items being withheld is a 17th-century icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to an assessment by the National Art Museum of Ukraine, its estimated value is approximately $100,000 USD. Also in the premises occupied by the security forces is an icon of the Mother of God given as a gift to Abbess Dorofeia, as well as a reliquary.
It is reported that the abbess holds supporting documentation for all of the aforementioned items. However, upon attempting to retrieve her personal property, she was once again denied access to the monastery grounds. The authorities and the museum's management, it is noted, have no intention of voluntarily returning the confiscated valuables.
On February 10, 2026, information emerged that the OCU is planning to seize the monastery.
This is indicated by OCU Synod Resolution No. 108 of February 2, 2026, on the creation of an unlawful legal entity at the site of the UOC monastery.
At the request of the head of the Chernihiv OCU, Antoniy Firlei, Epifaniy Dumenko initiated the creation of the "Baturyn Nykoло-Krupytsky Men's Monastery of the Chernihiv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine)."
КУ ст. 35 (свобода вероисповедания) · ЕСПЧ ст. 9 · Нормы ООН