“Charity and Reconciliation”: UOC helps exchange prisoners in the East
Since 2016, as part of the "Charity and Reconciliation" mission, the UOC priests have actively participated in the exchange of prisoners on both sides of the conflict.
The priests visited the Lugansk SIZO (a pre-trial detention center), where they were given an opportunity to talk with three AFU prisoners: Roman Fursov, Yakov Veremeychik and Yuri Yevtushok, as written on the website of the Synod’s Social and Humanitarian Department of the UOC.
Protopriest Vladislav Dikhanov, Chairman of the Synod’s Social and Humanitarian Department of the UOC, says, "Whereas in 2015, in 2016, and at the beginning of 2017, the main tasks were to sort out issues regarding the humanitarian assistance in the form of grocery baskets, medicines, hygiene kits, from the end of 2016 – the beginning of 2017 there came to the fore peacekeeping plans such as visiting prisoners of war, helping the exchange process. Throughout 2017, we participated in visiting prisoners of war from both sides of the conflict, handing over humanitarian kits (food aid) and, of course, providing spiritual guidance."
According to him, clergymen were able for the first time to visit the Ukrainian prisoners of war based in Lugansk: "We arrived in Lugansk on July 22, 2018, on the same day we visited the Lugansk SIZO, where we were given an opportunity to talk with three Ukrainian prisoners of war, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – Roman Fursov, Yakov Veremeychik and Yury Yevtushok."
Father Vladislav said that although the conversation was short-lived, it was possible to communicate quite amply with the captives, to feel their mood, to offer support, to convey letters and greetings from relatives and friends, and to transfer large packages with grocery sets to these three servicemen.
Aleksei Kovalchuk, coordinator of the humanitarian programs of the UOC Synod for Social and Humanitarian Affairs, explained: "This is the first visit to the pre-trial detention center in the territory of Lugansk. A year ago we made our first attempt, but it was not possible to get permission to visit this locality, so we were only in Donetsk territory."
The humanitarian program "Charity and Reconciliation" Mission" is carried out with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine and by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of 2015.
Earlier, on December 27, 2010, a large-scale exchange of prisoners took place in Donbass with the active participation of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Onufry.
