DESS launches probe into Balta Eparchy’s alleged ties to Russia
The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has launched a review of the Balta Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to determine whether it is affiliated with Moscow.
DESS head Viktor Yelensky signed the relevant order on September 2, 2026. According to the document, a special investigative group will begin its work on September 4.
DESS plans to examine whether the Balta Eparchy’s administration shows signs of ties to a foreign religious organization whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine under Ukrainian law. Officials say they will thoroughly examine any evidence of foreign influence and present the group’s final findings.
As the UOJ reported, the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy responded to DESS’s statement that it had found ties between the eparchy and the ROC.
