Tore down banners and assaulted people: Footage of OCU member shared online
The man in the footage is initially seen trampling on banners, assaulting believers, and later posing with a seized Orthodox relic and a candle.
"Yet another face of the hired thugs of the OCU, whom representatives of this structure themselves call their 'faithful,'" wrote the KozakTv1 Telegram channel, sharing photos and videos of a participant in the forcible seizure of the Archangel Michael Cathedral of the UOC in Cherkasy.
According to journalists, the attack captured on video occurred towards the end of the assault on the holy site by OCU activists.
UOC parishioners with banners and prayers are seen leaving the grounds of their church, which had already been occupied by the attackers. The OCU supporters then began snatching banners from the Christians, trampling on them, and using them to strike believers.
"This individual, wearing special gloves and apparently in an altered state of consciousness, tramples on the images on the banners and assaults the faithful. Later, he theatrically poses with a candle for the Cherkasy chaplains of the OCU. He is easily recognizable by a rune tattoo on his face," the message states.
As previously reported by the UOJ, a UOC monk who was brutally beaten in Cherkasy was discharged from the hospital.