Kyiv monks accused of Russia links refuse eviction order

By HANNA ARHIROVA
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Orthodox monks who’ve been ordered out of a monastery in Kyiv have refused to leave as a deadline to vacate the complex expired. The dispute over Ukraine’s most revered Orthodox site is part of a religious conflict in parallel with the war. The monks using the property belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that’s been accused of links to Russia. But the site is owned by the Ukrainian government, and the agency overseeing the property notified the UOC earlier this month that, as of March 29, it was terminating the lease. An abbot of the monastic complex told worshippers Wednesday that the UOC would not leave the site pending the outcome of a lawsuit it filed against the eviction.