Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko admitted on the air of the United News TV marathon that the authorities in Kiev-Pechersk Lavra are acting without a court ruling.

“Without waiting for a court ruling and the adoption of a law banning religious organizations with a management centre in Moscow, an aggressor country, from operating in Ukraine, we started work on the Lavra to start returning a Ukrainian identity for itself,” Tkachenko said.

He added that “with the help of our Western partners, UNESCO, normal life is being resumed in the Lavra itself.”

“Work has started on a strategy for the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, because we would like to see the Lavra as Ukrainian. Cultural events, concerts have also been resumed. And there will be more concerts. We are also resuming cooperation with tourist organisations, and we have quite serious plans about how the Lavra will be presented in the future,” Tkachenko said.