Ukraine’s religion agency finds signs of Balta diocese’s ties to Russian church

Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience said it had found signs that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Balta diocese administration is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.

The agency concluded that the diocese administration forms part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and is affiliated with its Kyiv metropolitan administration. The agency considers that administration affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose activities are banned in Ukraine.

The Balta diocese serves northern Odesa region. The agency conducted its review from September 4 to October 19, 2026.