Believers not allowed into Pochaiv say they will go on a hunger strike

The believers, who were not allowed into the Pochaiv Lavra on March 24, 2023, said that if the authorities did not hear them, they were ready to start an indefinite hunger strike, reports the press service of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna Eparchy.

“We are humiliated, we are pulled out by force from buses with small children as criminals in the middle of the night, we are forbidden to pray for our relatives, we are not allowed to move around our Motherland, the police bring our children to tears,” said the women in the appeal.

The believers of the UOC declared that they were ready to go to the end and called on the authorities to stop oppressing and persecuting them, and if the authorities did not hear them, they were ready to start an indefinite hunger strike.

On March 24, 2023, the police stopped two buses from Chernivtsi en route to the Pochaiv Lavra. The security forces explained their actions by the fact that rallies and meetings are prohibited during martial law. According to the UOJ, buses were confiscated from the drivers who were taking UOC believers for prayer to the Pochaiv Lavra for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.