From: Human Rights in Ukraine by Halya Coynash
Russia has been systematically trying to destroy the Ukrainian Church, as it has all that is Ukrainian in occupied Crimea, and it is frustrating that Kyiv did so little, so late, to obstruct this
All clergy serving the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine [OCU] have been forced to leave occupied Crimea or risk being forcibly mobilized into Russia’s armed forces. This is the last blow and has caused Archbishop Klyment, Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea to report bitterly that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has effectively ceased to exist in Crimea. This is what Russia has been seeking to achieve since its invasion and annexation of the peninsula in 2014, but Klyment has long expressed frustration that Kyiv was so slow to take any action in defence of the Church, and recent actions are of positive concern.
In an interview to Voice of Crimea, Klyment was asked to explain what had been happening in Crimea since Russia flouted an express order from the UN’s Human Rights Council and seized the Cathedral of Volodymyr and Olha in Simferopol on 11 May 2023.
Voice of Ukraine 