On November 9, 2023, security forces, accompanied by dozens of armed soldiers, surrounded the territory of the Bancheny Monastery of the UOC in Chernivtsi region. This was reported by a priest who was in the monastery.
According to the priest, the security forces demanded to enter the territory in order to "check the documents of the monastery and identify the people who are there." The clergy and parishioners did not let them in.
He also noted that the law enforcement officers did not have any court decisions to hold events in the monastery. According to Metropolitan Longin of the UOC, those who came were the SBU and the military.
The published footage shows the metropolitan saying that he has 10 sons serving at the front line, four of whom have already returned home disabled.
It is worth noting that Longin was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine in 2008 for adopting more than 400 orphans with developmental disabilities.
People's deputy Artem Dmytruk commented on the situation and said that the events in the Bancheny Monastery of the UOC are a genocide of the Ukrainian authorities against their own people. He wrote about this in his Telegram channel.
"Bancheny Monastery. The destruction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continues systematically! The authorities in the country are committing genocide against their citizens!" he wrote, attaching a video in which armed security forces surrounded the territory of the monastery.
