Overview
- Local recruitment-center staff entered a Ukrainian Orthodox Church parish in Smila, Cherkasy region, and took priest Alexey Lukash during a service, according to the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
- Church representatives said they were shown no documents on his status or the basis for the detention, while Lukash has not answered calls and his wife contacted police to try to deliver essential medicines.
- A Telegram channel reported Lukash had previously been deemed “limited fit” for service due to hypertension, a claim that has not been independently verified.
- Clergy are not automatically exempt from mobilization, and a 2024 policy granting exemptions to “critically important” religious organizations produced a June 2025 list that observers say largely excludes canonical UOC communities.
- The reported detention follows months of similar accounts involving UOC priests in various regions and comes alongside a government lawsuit filed on August 29 to ban the UOC, with a first court hearing held on October 30.