Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi. A group of militants and the SBU seized a UOC cathedral

Cathedral of the Holy Savior Not Made by Hands of the UOC

Address: Cherkasy Region, the city of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, Svobody Street

On May 30, 2024, at around midnight, a group of armed militants seized the Cathedral of the Holy Savior Not Made by Hands of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the city of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, Cherkasy Region.

The raiders broke the locks and thus gained access to the church.

The criminal group deliberately waited for the start of curfew in order to begin their special operation.

They remained locked inside the church premises throughout the night. The criminal group introduced themselves as local territorial defense forces. However, none of the raiders had any identification insignia.

According to eyewitnesses, the process of seizing the church was directly supervised by the head of the local SBU department responsible for religious affairs, Serhii Slabko.

The police were present at the scene but took no action.

In the morning, when the cathedral community began gathering near their church, the criminals were already on duty around the perimeter of the territory.

The faithful were forced to conduct worship services near the fence.

In order to drown out the words of prayer and prevent the conduct of worship, the raiders from the OCU brought loudspeakers through which songs were broadcast.

Moreover, the militants threatened Orthodox Christians with murder.