Hundreds gather at Russian-linked church in Khmelnytskyi where Ukrainian soldier was beaten

Around 500 people have gathered near a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) church in the city of Khmelnytskyi after a Ukrainian soldier was beaten there. The UOC-MP said the church was being "stormed". Source: Hromadske; Serhii Tiurin, First Deputy Head of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; UOC-MP

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Several priests are standing at the entrance to the church, surrounded by a number of athletic-looking men. The UOC-MP said that the "radicals" were storming the church, and that the incident that took place earlier was a "provocation". It claimed that around 50 Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) supporters and "radicals" entered the church's territory, were pushing church-goers, and shouting "To hell with the pope from Moscow!" The parishioners, meanwhile, "restrained the raiders", the UOC-MP said.

The UOC-MP also alleged that a "man dressed in military uniform attacked a priest of the Sviato-Pokrovskyi (Holy Protection) Cathedral in Khmelnytskyi, disrupted the service, and poured water on and damaged the holy Gospel in the presence of more than 100 parishioners." Dmytro Hutsaliuk, a local activist, said that a vote on whether the church would join the OCU was set to take place on Sunday. Serhii Tiurin, First Deputy Head of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration, urged everyone to "lower the tension and give relevant services a chance to handle the conflict that arose in a legal manner."

"I would like to recall that we live in a civilised European country where the rule of law prevails. We are not Muscovites and we will not resolve conflicts the way that they normally do. As any civilised person would, we will resolve all conflicts in a legal and legitimate manner," he said.

Previously: A priest and believers beat a soldier in one of the churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in Khmelnytskyi on the morning of 2 April.

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