A column of participants in the so-called Holy March to Kyiv organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate has continued walking in the direction of Kyiv, escorted by police.
“The column has resumed its march,” the press service of the National Police of Ukraine said.
The press service said law-enforcement agencies are taking all measures necessary to ensure the safety of the marchers.
One of the lanes of the highway to Zhytomyr has been cleared for the procession, which police are monitoring closely. Vehicles travelling in the direction of Zhytomyr are moving slowly.
The column on highway to Zhytomyr is making its way toward the Church of Saint Feodosiy of Chernihiv (who is considered the patron saint of liquidators of the Chornobyl NPP accident in 1986). March organizers are headed to the church, which is located in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynsky District, where a prayer ceremony is scheduled.
Law-enforcement officers have unsuccessfully urged marchers to take buses to the site, instead of walking.
Earlier on July 26 Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page that Ukraine’s National Guard and police would prevent marchers from continuing their procession through Kyiv. The post came after police found military hand grenades and a fake mine along the side of the road.
“The discovery this morning of a fake mine and actual hand grenades convinced us of the reality of threat of possible provocations. The National Guard and the police have taken measures to block the procession from proceeding on Kyiv streets. The safety of citizens is more important than religious rituals,” Avakov wrote on his Facebook page on July 26.
Police have opened a criminal investigation after finding and destroying explosive devices on the route of the procession organized by the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate).
