In Kovel, TRC officers detain a UOC priest and father of four
Despite his legal right to a deferment from mobilization, Archpriest Vitalii Popko is being prepared for dispatch to a training ground.
On October 16, 2025, officers of the Lutsk Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) detained Archpriest Vitalii Popko, a cleric of the UOC Church of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God in Kovel, Volyn region, near his home. The parish website reported the incident.
Father Vitalii has four underage children in his care – two biological and two adopted orphans. He possesses all properly issued documents entitling him to a deferment from mobilization.
According to the parish community, despite this, the priest is currently being held in a distribution center and is being prepared for dispatch to a military training ground.
“We ask for prayers for Archpriest Vitalii Popko,” the message reads.
As the UOJ previously reported, on October 16 a TRC unit in Kyiv detained a UOC protodeacon.
