President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy keeps the issue of quarantine restrictions during the Easter services under personal control. Currently, in most regions of the country, the situation is calm and controlled. There are rare cases of quarantine violations that have already been addressed by law enforcement agencies.
Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak is in regular contact with the heads of regional state administrations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Head of State was briefed on the developments in the regions.
According to the RSA heads, most temples adhere to the agreements reached with the local authorities and the National Police to prevent crowds. Worship services were held in most churches either in the presence of a small number of parishioners or behind closed doors.
However, unfortunately, there have been violations in several regions. According to the National Police, worship services were held in 13,658 temples in all regions of Ukraine. Almost 130,000 citizens took part in them. Violations of quarantine restrictions were recorded only in 19 religious buildings in the territory of 13 regions, including crowds and lack of individual means of protection. Most of the violations took place in the Donetsk region, where criminal proceedings have been initiated. In the Zaporizhzhia, Rivne and Chernihiv regions, police opened three administrative cases.
The President of Ukraine is grateful to the RSA heads and the police for their work, as well as to the clergy and believers for a civic consciousness and compliance with quarantine restrictions, which is a true manifestation of love for one's neighbor.
“130,000 believers came to worship this year. Last year, 7.5 million parishioners gathered in churches for Easter. This difference shows the consciousness of Ukrainians, our caring attitude towards our loved ones. We have truly shown that Easter is the victory of life over death,” the Head of State said.