300 Spartans? No, 300 “deacons”! OCU bishop helped men obtain deferments from mobilization
Obtaining ordination as a clergyman cost between $1,000 and $2,000
October 5, 2026 The Kalush City and District Court approved a plea agreement with Orthodox Church of Ukraine Bishop Kyryl (Mykhailo Mykhailyuk) and sentenced him to three years of probation. The bishop pleaded guilty to obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: by falsely registering men as deacons, he helped 291 men obtain deferments from mobilization.
According to the case file, the scheme operated from June 2023 to November 2025. The fees for falsely conferring clerical status ranged from $1,000 to $2,000. Some of the men did not meet the requirements for ordination and had no intention of performing the duties of deacons.
Kyryl reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor in March 2026. In reaching its decision, the court also took into account the bishop’s disability and the fact that he had donated 500,000 hryvnias to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Church sanctions took effect before the court approved the agreement. In November 2025, the OCU Synod removed Kyryl from the administration of the eparchy and barred him from issuing documents certifying clerical status. In February 2026, he was dismissed from his position.
We previously reported:
- 165 teachers for 50 children: fake “teaching positions” sold for $10,000 in Kyiv region
- Stacks of dollars instead of a carpet: how much was made from fake disability diagnoses for draft dodgers
- “Paper” divorces and accommodating judges: scheme to avoid service and obtain deferments exposed
- A cancer patient’s kidney stone used to help a draft dodger: doctor exposed in a cynical mobilization scheme
- Special operation to find draft dodgers covers Mykolaiv region and 19 other regions
