The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns the utterly illegal actions of the so-called “law enforcement agencies” controlled by the occupation administration of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied Crimea to dismantle the Holy Cross Exaltation Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Yevpatoriia on July 21. According to the report, the dome has already been removed from the church, and the upper part of the church has been dismantled.

The struggle between the Neopalyma Kupyna parish of the Holy Image of the Mother of God in Yevpatoriia and the Administration of the Crimean Diocese of the OCU for the church has been going on since the beginning of the occupation of the peninsula. Earlier, it became known that the occupation administration had applied to the “court” for permission to demolish the church.  

The administrative, judicial, and forceful pressure of the occupation administration of the Russian Federation on the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to stop its activities and force it out of temporarily occupied Crimea began immediately after the occupation. It gained momentum over ten years. The result of this pressure was a sharp decrease in parishes and priests: before the occupation, there were 49 religious communities in Crimea (parishes, missions, brotherhoods, monasteries), and by the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, there remained only 7. 

The occupiers systematically destroy Ukrainian identity on the occupied peninsula. The pressure on the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Crimea is part of this illegal practice.

It is worth noting that such actions by the occupiers are not new. In May 2023, following a period of sustained administrative pressure, the occupiers finally took control of the Cathedral of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olha in Simferopol. On April 8 of this year, the occupation administration decided to dismantle the dome of this cathedral, which served as the central shrine of the OCU in Crimea.

The Mission emphasizes that the destruction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Crimea, the artificial displacement of priests outside the peninsula, and the consistent persecution of Ukrainian citizens on the territory of the occupied peninsula on religious and ethnic grounds are violations of international law. These violations include:

• Violation of the Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which prohibits the forcible transfer, deportation, or relocation of the civilian population of an occupied territory;
• Violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
• Violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular Article 9, which protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In its judgment of June 25 this year in the case of Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) pointed to numerous human rights violations, including the right to freedom of religion. In particular, in the context of religion, the ECHR noted the following:

• Restrictions on religious activities: The Court noted that the occupation administration restricted religious activities and discriminated against religious minorities. In particular, the Orthodox community, which belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, as well as other religious communities that are not subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church;
• Persecution of religious leaders: The ECHR emphasized the persecution of religious leaders, including detention, interrogation, threats, and intimidation. This concerned both representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and other religious organizations;
• Seizure of religious facilities: The court noted cases of seizure of religious facilities and premises belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, including cathedrals and churches;
• Discrimination on religious grounds: The court recognized the facts of discrimination on religious grounds, which violates Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

In general, the ECHR stated that such actions of the occupation administration of the Russian Federation in Crimea are a violation of international law, in particular, human rights established in the European Convention on Human Rights.

We urge the international community and the world religious community to condemn the criminal persecution of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in occupied Crimea and the unlawful destruction of its churches and to respond to the latest violations of the same rights, which have already been ruled unlawful by the ECHR in the case of Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea).