On 22 January 2026, in a preparatory hearing in case No. 243/4706/24, the Chechelivskyi District Court of Dnipro granted a defence lawyer’s motion for online broadcasts of the hearings and allowed them on the YouTube channel and web portal of the Judiciary of Ukraine. In the same ruling, on the prosecutors’ motion, it extended Metropolitan Arseniy’s custody by 60 days, to 22 March 2026 inclusive, with no bail amount set.
The prosecutors objected to the broadcasts: in their view, they could lead to disclosure of witnesses’ personal data and of information that could harm sovereignty and national security. The defence lawyer had cited the high public interest in the proceedings and, according to the news agency Vchasno, the lawyers also cited the limited number of seats in the courtroom. The other defence lawyers and the defendant supported the motion.
The court pointed to the interest of believers and the public and to the principle of publicity and openness; a closed hearing had not been put to the participants, so it did not consider the prosecutors’ objections apt at this stage.
A defence lawyer had asked for custody to be replaced with a personal obligation, citing the Metropolitan’s health; Vchasno reported that the question of the measure of restraint was heard on 20 and 21 January. The court refused and rejected the applications for personal surety from a lawyer and three people’s deputies. It held that the risks the prosecutor had pointed to, including hiding from the court and influencing witnesses and experts, had not diminished.
On the risk of hiding, the court noted that the Svyatogirsk Holy Dormition Lavra, with whose territory the Metropolitan’s main activity is linked, stands in Svyatohirsk in the Donetsk region, near which fighting continues. It did not consider it proven that the Metropolitan’s health rules out custody and called the request for treatment in Kyiv premature.
Metropolitan Arseniy is charged under Articles 114-2 (part 2) and 436-2 (parts 1 and 3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in a single combined proceeding. The ruling can be appealed to the Dnipro Court of Appeal within five days; the defence, Vchasno reported, intends to do so.
Sources: Unified State Register of Court Decisions: ruling of 22 January 2026 in case No. 243/4706/24, full text (drawn up 26 January); same register: operative part of the ruling of 22 January 2026; Vchasno news agency, 27 January 2026.
