On March 27, 2023, Metropolitan Ioanniky of Montenegro and Primorsky stated that the expulsion of monks from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a violation of all international norms, the DECR website of the UOC reports.

Metropolitan Ioanniky sent a letter to the head of the UOC, Metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovary, in which he expressed his support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The head of the Montenegrin-Primorsky Metropolis said that he was grieving over the latest events in Ukraine. “The intentions to evict the brethren from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, as well as from other shrines of the UOC that we hear about these days, seem simply incredible and so absurd that it’s hard to believe that this can even be discussed,” wrote Metropolitan Ioanniky .