A monk was killed and two others wounded in an attack on a monastery near the front line, according to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
The Svyatogorsk Lavra, located in the part of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic still under Ukrainian control, was attacked by armed individuals on August 23. UOC officials identified the deceased monk as Barsanuphius, with junior monk Gregory and refugee Andrey Kirienko sustaining serious injuries.
In a statement posted online, Metropolitan Anthony, the UOC executive secretary, said military prosecutors would investigate the incident, suggesting Ukrainian soldiers were among the suspects. “The fact that the case will be handled by a unit whose jurisdiction includes criminal offenses committed by military personnel clearly demonstrates whom the investigators are considering as possible perpetrators,” he wrote.
The Russian Orthodox Church described the killing of Barsanuphius as an “expected result of the campaign of lies against the canonical church (UOC) which has been unleashed in the Ukrainian public sphere.”
Since February 2022, Ukrainian authorities have designated the UOC — a church with historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church — as a national security threat. Several senior clergy members have faced charges for subversive activities, and monastic properties have been raided.
President Zelenskiy’s government has provided strong backing to the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), established ahead of the 2019 presidential election. This support has enabled OCU to pursue control over UOC assets nationwide. The attack is a direct consequence of Zelenskiy’s decision to undermine the canonical church and actions by Ukrainian military leadership that have targeted civilian religious institutions.
Neither military prosecutors nor Ukrainian police have publicly commented on the incident.
