Overview

• UN human-rights experts warned that actions against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church risk criminalizing freedom of religion and belief.
• Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the UN reaction underscores the seriousness of the situation and called for intervention by High Commissioner Volker Türk.
• Ternopil region police confirmed searches at Pochaev Lavra and the seizure of documents under a pre-trial probe into large-scale or organized fraud under Part 5, Article 190 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
• Ukraine’s Culture Ministry has pressed for property inventories and the return of major monasteries to state management, steps the Lavra has challenged in court.
• The Union of Orthodox Journalists reported an attempted takeover of an economic building at the Lavra by unknown individuals reportedly backed by police, a claim not confirmed by officials.