Metropolitan Kliment of Crimea and Simferopol of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, who currently serves in the Armed Forces, was beaten up by unknown assailants in Kyiv on Sept. 10, a church official confirmed for Suspilne.
Kliment visited Kyiv for the fourth summit of the Crimean Platform, an international consultation and coordination format aimed at ensuring the liberation of the peninsula from Russian occupation.
The bishop was reportedly on his way toward the St. Michael's Monastery in central Kyiv when he was stopped and physically assaulted by three people at around 11 p.m. on Sept. 10.
Journalist Andrii Tsaplienko shared a photo of Kliment, showing his bruised and bloodied face after the assault. Initial reports about the incident were later confirmed for the media by Andrii Shchekun, an official at the Crimean Diocese of the OCU.
Kliment believes that it was a premeditated and carefully planned assault as it took place outside of view of surveillance cameras.
The National Police said they are examining the incident and that an "investigative and operational group was dispatched to talk to the victim and establish all circumstances."
Law enforcement sources confirmed for Ukrinform that a senior church representative was assaulted near St. Michael's Monastery. They did not confirm Kliment's assertion that it was a premeditated attack.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) suffers heavy repressions by Russian authorities in occupied Crimea, with priests being forced to leave and church premises being confiscated. Moscow illegally seized the peninsula in 2014.
Religious experts told the Kyiv Independent in April that the OCU has virtually ceased to exist in Crimea. Russia has cracked down on various independent religious organizations in occupied territories, instead promoting the Russian Orthodox Church and its local branch, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Ukraine recently passed a law banning religious organizations subordinate to the Russian church, creating pressure on the Moscow Patriarchate's communities to sever their ties with Russia.
Serving as the Metropolitan of Crimea and Simferopol since 2013, Kliment has been a vocal advocate for the rights of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in the occupied peninsula.
Martin Fornusek
