On May 26, 2024, supporters of the OCU, supported by police, seized the church in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Solun in the village of Berezdov in Khmelnytskyi region. The police pushed back the UOC believers who tried to defend the church and provided access to the door of the building to the OCU supporters, UOJ reported.

“Live broadcast from the scene was led by parishioners of the UOC, who at about 15:00 reported that the representatives of the PCU are pulling together in the temple and called on the faithful to come to the defense of their sanctuary. People stood on the threshold of the church in front of the door of the temple and tried not to allow the desecration of the house of God. However, police officers pushed back the UOC believers and encircled the entrance to the temple, allowing the aggressive OCU activists to break down the door. According to eyewitnesses, the wife of the village head was leading the process. She broke down the door with a crowbar and together with another man cut the locks on the temple. After the vandals managed to cope with the church door, they entered the temple to the applause of the crowd. The whole process was watched by a cleric of the OCU”, – said the correspondent of the publication.

Note, earlier we reported that on May 15, 2024 in the village Sutkovtsy Khmelnitsky region supporters of the OCU seized the local Holy Protection Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is known as a temple-fortress. The seizure was attended by representatives of the regional administration, executive service and the police and military commissariat.