Overview

• Metropolitan Feodosiy told diplomats that UOC priests are being drafted as regular soldiers unless they transfer to the state‑favored Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which he said brings an immediate deferment.
• He said UOC clergy are barred from serving as military chaplains, while other confessions’ clerics can receive exemptions, citing recent government criteria for reserving staff of “critically important” religious organizations.
• The Cherkasy district court kept travel restrictions in place for Feodosiy, who remains under investigation on charges that include incitement of religious hatred after earlier periods of house arrest.
• UOC‑aligned outlets reported that supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, with alleged assistance from UHA‑UNSO, forced entry into the UOC’s Vladimir church in Brody on October 4 and held a first service there.
• A 2024 law signed by Ukraine’s leadership enabling a ban on the canonical UOC continues to frame the dispute, as UOC representatives document searches, prosecutions and contested church transfers.