On August 10, 2021, at about 18:00, supporters of the “OCU” cut off the locks and entered the territory of the temple of the Sarny diocese of the UOC in honor of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the village of Zabolotye, Rivne region, which was sealed after the storming by schismatics three months ago. This was reported by the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

Since May 10, after members of the “OCU” tried to seize the temple of the UOC, the church was closed and sealed. A policeman is on duty at the temple, who must keep order. The offenders waited until he was absent for a few minutes, cut off the locks on the fence and entered the territory of the temple.

They explained their actions by the desire to “mow the grass” in the churchyard. They were “allowed” to break into the territory of the temple by the deputy of the Varash OTG from Poroshenko’s party “European Solidarity” Alexander Derevyanchuk. This politician previously participated in the storming of the temple and other provocations against the UOC.

The OCU supporters refused to leave the churchyard until the parishioners of the UOC and an additional police squad arrived. The believers wrote a statement on the fact of the offense.

We will remind, on May 10, supporters of the “OCU”, with the support of regional deputies and the “Municipal Guard” from Varash, seized a church in the Sarnensky diocese of the UOC in the village of Zabolotye. The police sealed the temple, and the authorities offered to decide the fate of the temple at a general meeting of the village. In the confrontation, during which the followers of the “OCU” sprayed gas, the believers of the UOC received various injuries, and the abbot was hospitalized with pressure.