Ukraine officially claims ownership of cathedral in occupied Crimea

That's according to the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"The Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga was transferred from being property of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to Ukraine’s state property. The relevant resolution was supported by the government today," the statement reads.

The decision provides an opportunity to protect the violated rights of the community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the Crimean Peninsula. The cathedral will be transferred to the free use of the OCU’s Crimean Diocese, and once the peninsula is deoccupied, it will be returned to church property.

The government resolution was adopted in line with the Parliament’s resolution "On certain issues of protection of the right to freedom of worldview and religion of the believers with the Crimean Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine), to preserve the premises of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga.”

It was authored by the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories.

Since 2019, the Ministry for Reintegration has been pursuing a consistent policy of protecting OCU communities in the temporarily occupied Simferopol, advocating the transfer of the cathedral to the ownership of the community after the peninsula is liberated from the Russians.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on February 17, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution "On certain issues of protection of the right to freedom of worldview and religion of the believers with the Crimean Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine), to preserve the premises of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga.”

The Crimean Diocese of the OCU was the only religious community on the peninsula, which refused to re-register at Russia’s illegal demand. This became one of the reasons for the persecution of parishioners, clergy, and their families.

Photo: Radio Liberty