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Ukrainian authorities bring in Ukrainian Orthodox church activist for questioning

The special service has not yet made any comment

MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has summoned for questioning a woman parishioner of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) Viktoria Kokhanovskaya, who was actively campaigning for the rights of the church during provocations near the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery, the Ukrainian online media resource Strana said on Monday.

The woman was handed a subpoena for questioning by the SBU. The media resource published a photo of the summons showing that Kokhanovska was to report to the SBU at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time on April 10. The special service has not yet made any comment.

Strana also posted a video, which shows a police officer leading the woman to a car. No other details are available at the moment.

Kokhanovskaya was repeatedly seen in news videos near the walls of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra surrounded by other supporters and opponents of the UOC. The woman tried to talk to the provocateurs, answered their questions and explained the position of the church and its parishioners. When contacting the provocateurs, she always recorded videos on her phone, precisely as the UOC recommends.

Tensions over the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, one of the first monasteries in Russia and the oldest monastery on the territory of modern Ukraine, escalated in late March. The authorities severed the lease with the canonical Church and demanded that the monks leave the monastery. The UOC monks refused to follow the illegal demands. Both sides took the case to court. On April 1, Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, was charged with inciting religious hatred and justifying Russian actions. On the same day, the court put him under round-the-clock house arrest for 60 days.

Since March 30, supporters and opponents of the UOC have gathered on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra every day. Provocateurs start scuffles or verbal altercations. As the UOC said, the provocateurs are trying to get a rise out of parishioners, which they would be able to catch on camera and later upload the videos to social networks to show the clergy and parishioners’ allegedly aggressive attitude to the military. The UOC recommends that parishioners avoid aggressive reactions, record provocations on camera, and organize vigils.

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