Ukrainian Armed Forces: Chaplain corps staffed at less than half capacity
Priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are banned from serving as chaplains.
The overall staffing level of the Military Chaplaincy Service is about 45%, reported Colonel Oleksandr Vovkotecha, head of the Military Chaplaincy Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at a press conference at Ukrinform.
“As of October 2025, the total staffing of the Military Chaplaincy Service stands at about 45%. Specifically, the service’s staff positions are filled at 45%, military chaplain positions at 43%, and chaplain assistants at around 40%,” Vovkotecha said.
According to him, the total authorized strength of the Military Chaplaincy Service is about 1,700 people: around 70 in the leadership, and approximately 800 military chaplains and 800 chaplain assistants.
Current data show that representatives of 13 religious organizations now serve in the Chaplaincy Service structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: the OCU, UGCC, RCC, All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Ukrainian Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith, Ukrainian Evangelical Church, Center of Evangelical Christian Churches of Ukraine “Victory,” Spiritual Administration of Evangelical Christians of the Ukrainian Christian Church “New Generation,” Union of Jewish Communities of Messianic Judaism, Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “UMMA,” Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea, Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy, and the Religious Center “Council of Christian Churches and Religious Organizations ‘Skiniya.’”
UOC priests are not admitted to military chaplaincy service due to a legal ban.
Colonel Vovkotecha emphasized that the main task of the Military Chaplaincy Service is to organize measures to meet the spiritual and religious needs of service members, Armed Forces personnel, and their families – both in peacetime and wartime.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Ukrainian authorities have been sending mobilization summonses to UOC priests.
