How many religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church have been dissolved in Ukraine
The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESC) has initiated legal proceedings to suspend the activities of religious organizations that ignore the requirements of the law to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
As of the end of March 2026, no organization subject to these restrictions has been ordered by a court to cease operations.
According to official information from the agency, experts are conducting systematic monitoring to identify signs of communities’ affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Key entities have come under close scrutiny, including the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Holy Trinity Monastery in Korets, and the Odessa Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
As a result of inspections conducted since spring 2025, ties to the aggressor country have been confirmed at three major sites.
Specifically, these include the Kyiv Metropolis, the Holosiivskyi Hermitage, and the Stavropegic Monastery in Korets, which refused to voluntarily rectify the identified violations.
Viktor Voinalovich, First Deputy Head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy, stated: “After the religious organization Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church failed to comply with the order, the State Service for Ethnic Policy filed an administrative lawsuit on August 29, 2025, with the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal seeking the dissolution of this religious organization.”
Similar steps were taken regarding the women’s monastery in Korets, against which a lawsuit was filed on November 4, 2025. However, court proceedings are dragging on, and there are currently no final decisions to ban the activities of these legal entities.
Government officials emphasize that “as of the date of this response, no religious organization has been dissolved through judicial proceedings for failing to comply, within the timeframe established by law, with an order to remedy violations of legislation on freedom of conscience and religious organizations.”
As a reminder, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church is accompanied everywhere by his mistress.
The Russian Orthodox Church has also appointed new “curators” to promote propaganda in Ukraine.
