On 17 June 2026 information about a criminal offence under article 356 of the Criminal Code (arbitrary action) was entered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, over the blocking of the Kyiv Holy Dormition Caves Lavra’s access to buildings 41 and 42 on its territory. The entry was made on the strength of a ruling of the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv obliging the investigators to make it.
This was reported by counsel for the monastery, who states that officials of the reserve changed the locks in the absence of any decision that had entered into force and while disputes over the right to use the property remained undecided. We have not found the reserve’s position on these two buildings.
An entry in the register is neither a charge nor a finding of guilt: it registers a fact, and an investigation begins from it. Building 42, at 15 Lavrska Street, is the registered address of the Lavra as a legal person.
Source: Information and Education Department of the UOC, 17 June 2026.
