The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns the recent illegal actions of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea, targeting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and infringing upon religious freedom.

On April 8, the dome of the Cathedral of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga was dismantled in occupied Simferopol by the decision of the occupation administration. The actions taken by the occupiers represent a persistent effort to erase Ukrainian identity and cultural heritage in occupied Crimea, alongside ongoing persecution of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. These measures aim to maintain only Kremlin-aligned religious institutions within the occupied region, such as the Russian Orthodox Church.

Since the onset of the temporary occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Russian Federation’s occupation administration has continuously exerted administrative, judicial, and coercive pressure on the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, seeking to halt its activity on the peninsula. 

The Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine faced immense pressure, leading to a significant reduction in its parishes and priests. Before the onset of the occupation, there were 49 religious communities in Crimea, including parishes, missions, fraternities, and a monastery. However, by the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, only 7 remained.

After the start of the full-scale invasion and the announcement of Putin’s military mobilization, Russia began to persecute the clergy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Crimea and illegally issue summons to them, forcing them to leave the territory of the occupied Crimea. Metropolitan Klyment stated that the Crimean Diocese, in the context of first the illegal occupation of Crimea and then the full-scale war unleashed by Russia, essentially ceased to exist. In May 2023, the occupiers captured the Cathedral of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga in Simferopol.

“Everything was taken away from Ukrainians in Crimea — language, word, culture, church, but not faith. The faith that Ukraine will return to them, support and liberate Ukrainian Crimea — an integral territory of Ukraine,” — Metropolitan Klyment mentioned.

The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea emphasizes that the destruction of the center of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Crimea and the consistent persecution of Ukrainian citizens on the territory of the occupied peninsula on religious and ethnic grounds are a violation of international law.

We call upon the global community and the international religious community to denounce and act against the unjust persecution of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in occupied Crimea and the destruction of its main church.