Radicals set to stage provocation against Lavra defenders outside Kyiv court
Radicals who support the OCU are planning a provocation against defenders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra outside the courthouse on August 26, 2026, according to the Pershyi Kozatskyi Telegram channel.
The report says that Vinnytsia resident Davyd Pshenychnyi, who previously attacked believers with a handgun during the storming of St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy, called on like-minded supporters to gather outside the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal on August 26. Pshenychnyi urged his followers to join him in deciding the fate of the Kyiv-Pechersk shrine.
The Vinnytsia radical was joined by Bratstvo leader Dmytro Korchynskyi. In a post on his Facebook page, he called the UOC an “enemy that has not yet been finished off,” claiming that the Church was trying to bribe judges and “will bring its supporters there to exert psychological pressure on the court.”
He called on OCU supporters to come to the courthouse on Sholudenka Street, claiming that “officials defending the position of the Ukrainian state have no opportunity to bribe judges.”
“Small groups of provocateurs from the OCU and nationalist thieves have come to the courthouse before and tried to stage provocations. We therefore urge UOC faithful who come to support the monastery to remain vigilant. There is nothing to fear – carefully document all actions by criminals and provocateurs,” Pershyi Kozatskyi said in response.
As the UOJ reported, believers have been urged to attend the hearing in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra case, scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal at 1-A Sholudenka Street in Kyiv. The monastery’s lawyer previously warned of possible provocations by opponents of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the day of the hearing. Believers are being asked to remain calm, not respond to provocative actions, and avoid confrontations with opponents.
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