The Sixth Administrative Appeal Court of Kyiv ruled to annul the order of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), which approved the conclusion of the religious studies examination of the Statute of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) regarding its ecclesiastical-canonical connection with the Moscow Patriarchate.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the court hearing
In the lawsuit, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is in prayerful unity with the Moscow Patriarchate, demanded to recognize the order of DESS dated January 27, 2023, No. H-8/11, as unlawful and to annul it, which approved the conclusion of the UOC Statute examination. In addition, the religious organization challenged the refusal to dismiss the experts who conducted the document research.
The court fully satisfied the plaintiffs’ demands, ruling to annul the disputed order and obliging DESS to reconsider the issue of drafting and approving the conclusion of the religious studies examination of the UOC Statute regarding its connection with the Moscow Patriarchate.
The ruling of the Sixth Administrative Appeal Court “can be appealed by filing a cassation complaint directly to the Supreme Court.”
Preconditions and further actions
In August 2025, DESS officially recognized the UOC as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose activities in Ukraine are banned as a foreign religious organization. DESS head Viktor Yelensky stated that if the UOC fails to comply with the relevant prescriptions, the service will file a lawsuit to terminate the UOC’s activities on the territory of Ukraine.
As of now, there have been no official comments regarding the court’s decision from DESS or its head Viktor Yelensky.