Ivan Levitsky

Extra Bio Info:

Ivan Levitsky was detained for his religious leadership role.

In November 2022, Russian forces in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Ukraine, reportedly abducted hieromonk Levitsky, rector of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and Father Bohdan Geleta, an employee of the same church. Levitsky's abduction reportedly occurred on or around November 16, 2022, with Russian forces searching the church's premises around that same time.

On November 24, 2022, it was revealed in Russian media that Russian forces had detained the two priests and accused them of "subversive" and "partisan" activities directed against Russian forces after allegedly discovering explosives, weapons, and "prohibited literature" on church premises. Russian media also claimed that Levitsky had called on people sabotage and resist Russian forces and had held prayers in support of Ukrainian forces and the government. According to the Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Donetsk, the accusations levied against the two seem to be in retaliation to Ukrainian authorities searching the Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, which is under the authority of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In February 2024, Forum 18 reported that Levitsky is being held in a prison in Russia's Rostov region.

On June 28, 2024, Levitsky was released and returned to Ukraine. 

Related Cases: Bohdan Geleta