A police complaint has been filed over the obstruction of the work of the Commission for the Acceptance and Transfer of State Property of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko said. He stated that due to physical obstacles from the side of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the Commission was unable to start its work.
"Representatives of the Monastery from the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, who are members of the Commission, could not explain who has the keys to the building, which was scheduled to be inspected. In addition, numerous unidentified persons prevented members of the Commission from entering the building," Tkachenko said.
The minister assured that the Commission would anyway continue its work tomorrow.
The UOC-MP was supposed to vacate the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on 29 March. However, yesterday, instead, the church's abbot announced a lawsuit and that they were not going to leave the Lavra at least until a court decision was issued.