Derno, Volyn Province, Ukraine, May 8, 2026
Photo: Diocese of Vladimir-Volynsky
A senior Ukrainian Orthodox Church bishop and a priest were forcibly removed from their vehicle and assaulted by military recruitment officers at a checkpoint in western Ukraine, resulting in the bishop suffering a heart attack.
His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir of Vladimir-Volynsky, Archpriest Alexander Kobenko, and Deacon Dmitry Manetsky were traveling from Rivne to Lutsk when they were stopped at a mobile checkpoint operated by the Territorial Recruitment Center (TCC) near the village of Derno, reports the Diocese of Vladimir-Volynsky.
TCC employees began forcibly pulling Met. Vladimir from the car without first checking any documents. When Fr. Alexander attempted to protect the Metropolitan, recruitment officers used pepper spray against him, forced him to his knees, and beat him in the chest area.
Both clergymen were then dragged into a TCC service vehicle. The violent encounter and severe stress caused Met. Vladimir to suffer a heart attack, while Fr. Alexander developed an acute allergic reaction to the pepper spray gas.
Police officers present at the scene did not intervene and remained passive observers throughout the incident, according to the statement.
After apparently recognizing the severity of the situation, TCC employees released Met. Vladimir and Fr. Alexander near the checkpoint before departing with police officers in an unknown direction.
Met. Vladimir and Fr. Alexander are both in stable condition. The Metropolitan has issued a strong warning to all clergy and church servants of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to exercise extreme vigilance and caution.
The incident comes just months after Met. Vladmir issued a formal appeal to Ukrainian security services regarding the detention and beating of clergy in his diocese. In that appeal, the Metropolitan stated that clergy from his diocese had been detained, with some ceasing communication afterward and their fate remaining unknown.
He specifically cited a January 14 incident in which a sexton of the Holy Dormition Cathedral was beaten and abducted near his home by unknown persons who identified themselves as law enforcement representatives. In his appeal, Met. Vladimir stated that “the lawlessness that’s being committed today destroys the foundation of our statehood” and called on authorities to act according to their oath to the Ukrainian people.
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