The hospital refuted the claim, saying that 10 people sought medical attention after the altercation, six of whom were treated as outpatients and four of whom were hospitalized.
“Head of Cherkassy hospital refuses medical help to Orthodox parishioners” – such sensational headlines appeared in pro-Russian sources. The reports concern a brawl between representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) near St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy on October 17. Some parishioners were unhappy with the decision of the parish priest Volodymyr Pedko to transfer the church to the OCU. Propagandists claim that about 20 people with serious injuries sought medical attention, but chief physician Oleksandr Fedoruk allegedly forbade them from recording injuries, providing first aid, or hospitalizing the injured. This is presented as evidence of religious intolerance against Orthodox believers in Ukraine.
However, this information is false. StopFake contacted the management of the Third Cherkasy City Emergency Medical Hospital, which promptly published a rebuttal:
“On October 17, 2024, 10 people injured during these events were treated at the Third Cherkasy City Emergency Medical Hospital. Six were treated as outpatients, two were admitted to the trauma department and two to the neurosurgery department. All those who sought help received it in full. The information about refusal of medical help is false and discredits the institution,” the hospital said on its official Facebook page.
Currently, the incident is being investigated by law enforcement agencies. The regional police have opened a criminal case under Part Four of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – hooliganism. The maximum penalty under this article is two to five years’ imprisonment.
The religious community of Cherkasy voted and decided in June to transfer the church to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), and the process was completed on October 17. An order to this effect was issued and signed by the Cherkasy Regional Military Administration. As a result, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) community at this address is no longer registered and has lost its property rights.
“The Russian Orthodox Church has occupied the territory of St. Michael’s Cathedral and hypocritically calls itself the Ukrainian Church… so today we have made this change. The entire territory of Ukraine must be freed from Russian occupation, including spiritual Russian occupation,” commented Father Nazarij, a military chaplain, on the transfer of the church to the OCU.
Russian propaganda claims of discrimination against Orthodox believers in Ukraine are not true. We have previously examined this narrative in detail in the article Fake: Orthodoxy Has Been Banned in Ukraine.
