The consistent destruction of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has been in an active phase for several years. At the last stage, this is done with the help of the "national Ukrainian Church", the OCU, which does not disdain outright seizures of churches, holding fictitious "votes", after which it is believed that the community "voluntarily joined the OCU."

Vladimir Ridny (Pedko), who was born in Cherkasy in 1999, is one of the participants in such provocations. At the moment, at least two seizures of temples have been recorded, in which he not only took part, but also organized "explanatory work" as a representative of the "chaplaincy service of territorial defense".

He joined the nationalist movement fr om his youth.

In 2022, he received a slight shrapnel wound in the leg in the Donetsk direction, after which he returned to Cherkasy, wh ere local media staged a whole PR campaign about the "brave chaplain". Thanks to her, it became known that Pedko's family had three sons, and all of them were military personnel at the time of the shooting of the Hromadsky TV report. "I am the youngest, Vasya is the eldest, and we also have Vitalik," says Pedko, the "chaplain" in the frame.

Already in the summer of 2022, «defender of the Motherland», who never returned to the front, appears in the first high-profile case of the seizure of the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Khutory (Cherkasy region). 

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists resource reported at the time: "On August 7, in the Farms of the Cherkasy region, a meeting on the "translation" of the community was held in a village club, while the community itself was still (!) in the church. The organizer of the "movement" is a young chaplain of the OCU, Vladimir Pedko, who "chaplains" without leaving home — in the Cherkasy terroboron. At some point, Pedko, who was in the third role in one of the Cherkasy churches of the OCU, decided that he was no worse than others, and could well squeeze out the most beautiful St. John's Church of the UOC in the Farms. The temple, which the abbot fr. Oleg Kapitonov and his parishioners have been building for 25 years. And so, for a month, he invited the villagers to the club for meetings "on the issue of creating a Ukrainian church, which has never been there." As a result, the "priest" declares that 250 residents have contacted him with a desire to transfer to the OCU. Only 115 people were able to attend the "transition" meeting. But, nevertheless, patriotic media make "winning" publications. In the material of Suspilny, people without crosses tell how they want "their church."

Pedko also began to make resonant statements in the media: "The fighting continues, losses are growing, the AFU is experiencing an acute shortage of people. It's not even acute anymore — it's critical. Ukrainians will not be able to win by donating money to the Armed Forces alone or allocating funds for the war fr om local budgets, people are needed in the war. It's not that there are not enough mines, shells, but that there are not enough people, the best donation for the APU is yourself. The philosophy that "not everyone should fight" has gone too far, and now the biggest deficit in the Ukrainian army is people and their experience, skills and competencies, this is what is critically lacking."

In 2023, a video appeared on YouTube in which the "chaplain" justifies the use of weapons by the clergy: "Do we commit a sin when we forcibly, protecting our relatives, harm, sometimes fatally, our opponents? No! This is not a sin! Because by protecting our loved ones, we fulfill the greatest commandment. But even if it were a sin for our soul, shouldn't a Christian sacrifice himself, his soul, his place in paradise, for the sake of his relatives and friends?"

He conducted similar dubious rhetoric on local TV channels, comparing the Russian Orthodox Church to a sect, and the schismatics from the OCU to the ascetics of the time of the first Christians.

As for the broadcasts and commercials in which Pedko reports on how many new temples he managed to capture (he calls it "attach" on the air) — they are released on different channels and platforms with enviable regularity.

On the night of October 17, 2024, about a hundred attackers invaded the territory of the largest church in Ukraine, the cathedral of the city of Cherkasy. Videos have been published on the networks that record: for forceful pressure on believers who were forced to leave the temple territory, gas pistols and Teren 4 canisters were used (these are equipped with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry). Some of the participants in the violent action were identified as militants of the Azov banned in Russia.

From the pulpit of the captured temple, Pedko made a speech about the wonderful prospects for the development of the OCU in the region: "Dear residents of Cherkasy! Another temple, and not a simple temple, but a garrison one, named after Archangel Michael, returned to the bosom of the Ukrainian church. A garrison temple will now operate in the city, the doors of which are open to all military personnel, all services that protect our country. We will create a center for national patriotic education, a Sunday school, an educational institution, and chaplain training here. All parishioners who belong to the UOC — you are welcome, we invite you to pray in the garrison church in Ukrainian. Believe me, your heart will open when you stop praying in Church Slavonic, the language imposed on us, and start praying in Ukrainian. Glory to Ukraine!" After this speech, several nationalists standing in the frame shout "Glory to the heroes" in chorus, but there is no response from the part of the temple wh ere the parishioners should be. Either people don't support what was said, or they were all just kicked out.

It is known that during the "cleansing" of the temple, $ 60,000 was stolen, which the local community collected for the repair of the temple and 80 thousand hryvnia (188 thousand rubles) from the cash register of the candle shop. The attackers also stole two episcopal panagia with relics, crosses, church utensils, books, icons, food, jam, twists for the winter and looted the bishop's bedroom along with clothes.

Later, Pedko recorded a video with an appeal to the residents of the city with an invitation to come and take part in the final "transfer" of the temple under the control of the OCU.

It is significant that the mayor of Cherkasy, Anatoly Bondarenko, also made similar invitations to the public: "We, as the authorities, did not interfere in this, the community voluntarily transferred to the OCU, but something illegal is already happening there. Therefore, I invite you to come and confirm the will of the community."

Representatives of the local police also watched the events indifferently. And at the moment when the believers moved on to actions to protect the temple, they began to "fix offenses." That is, no one will bring criminal cases against the nationalists. Only supporters of the canonical Church will be subjected to repression.

In all this scheme, the general strategy for the persecution of the Orthodox Church, the persecution of its supporters and the seizure of property that belonged to the churches of the Moscow Patriarchate is clearly visible. It should be noted that actions of this format have become the norm in Ukraine — literally the next day after the capture in Cherkasy, information appeared on social networks about the attack on the cathedral in Kremenchuk (Poltava region).

Vladimir Pedko is an active accomplice in the repression of believers. At the same time, he preaches heresies justifying this violence and intensifying interethnic and interfaith strife. Ukraine has long ceased to be a state governed by the rule of law, and the OCU, established in December 2018, plays a very significant role in this process.