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Did Sevastopol gasp? You’re welcome!

Lately, the South of Ukraine has been assailed by furious anti-Ukrainian propaganda. “Novorossia”, RDK, and other treasonable separative movements have brisked up their activity. Under such conditions a missionary department of Ukrainian Authokefalic Orthodox Church (UAOC) and UNA decided to organize several religious and cultural actions in Odessa, Kherson and Sevastopol in order to raise up morale of Ukrainians. It was planned to carry out cross processions and public prayers for perished Ukrainians. Detachments of UNSO from Kyiv, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Odessa, and other cities were mobilized to protect priests and choir.

We thought that representatives of Ukrainian political groups should approve such extremely necessary arrangements. But, while a staff of Ministry of Internal Affairs tolerantly asked us to be careful and prudent, some NRU (“Rukh”) leaders pressed on UAOC representatives. Particularly, Mr. Porovskij rushed, together with two “friends”, into apartment of bishop Volodymyr Romaniuk, threaten and dissuade him from journey.

Despite everything the priests of UAOC, full of patriotic spirit, made up their mind to go the South.

The journey generated considerable public excitement and attracted attention of Ministry of Internal Affairs. A deputy chief of South-western Railway department and high police officers came to see off a train with clergymen and UNSO representatives. At all train stations intensive police detachments were aligned near a staff car. Officers of linear police were going in that car, and local policemen were joining in turns to them

 

ODESSA

28. February

As it was coordinated beforehand, the train should arrive at Central terminal of Odessa. But it came in at “Kujalnik” station, located 24 km from city center. Regular buses to the center turned and went away empty. Only, when road had been blocked by UNSO men, local authorities gave us 3 buses.

After arrival to Odessa we held a solemn church service at Pryvokzalna square. Then our procession moved to Derebasivska Street. There we held a mass meeting and a public prayer for fallen UNR warriors.

 

KHERSON

30. February

In the morning the train arrived to Kherson. Our cross procession moved from the terminal to the city center, where we held a solemn public prayer and meeting “Kyiv against Moscow”. Also, from Kherson we sent a telegram to Mr. Kasatonov: “ We’re leaving. We’ll be on the 1^st of March. Kiss. Your UNSO”

 

CRIMEA –VERHKNIOSADOVE – SEVASTOPOL

1. March

According to the previous information admiral Kasatonov promised not to allow our train to enter Sevastopol, alleging that the city is a closed zone. Some days before the journey had started, a rumor that “extremists and banera-men” are coming spread all over Crimea and, especially, Sevastopol. The question of this train was even risen up at Crimea Supreme Rada session. Ivan Yermakov, the mayor of Sevastopol city, immediately leaved the session and went to “clear up the circumstances”.

At 7.10 our train arrived to Verkhniosadove station. A sailor patrol asked us to show a admittance to the “closed zone”. Passengers have thought that Sevastopol territory is a part of our state, and had no any admittance. Therefore some confusion have occurred, that UNSO members solved – they blocked a railway. The blockade lasted for 3 hours, because the local authorities didn’t know what to do. During that time we performed a special liturgy and concert of “Homin” choir for another train passengers, who couldn’t get to Sevastopol market, because of authorities’ sluggishness. At last, local officials decided to allow the train to enter Sevastopol, and admiral Kasatonov promises not to allow “ bandera-men” to the “city of Russian sailors” remained unrealized.

Alleging that our train couldn’t come in Sevastopol station because of breach in a schedule of railway traffic, we stopped in Inkerman platform.

As it was agreed with local authorities before, a liturgy should be hold in a city center, where, nowadays, a museum of IMF is arranged. Two cutters transported clergy and UNSO men from Inkerman to Graf moorage that is in a center of the city.

The city center met pilgrims with dead silence and local “guides” in police uniform. These “guides” were standing in line, pointing a space, in which our column was allowed to move.

As it became known, troops and police blocked the city center in a radius of 1 km in order not to let patriotic citizens of Sevastopol to join us. Instead of them, some members of RDK with three-colored flags and three dozens of their followers were let trough police rows, and tried to frustrate our liturgy and meeting by whistling, shouting and singing a song “Sevastopol – a city of Russian sailors’’. But these provocative actions couldn’t attract attention of three hundred well-organized UNSO men, and everything passed without excesses.

We returned to the moorage in order, and embarked the cutters. During embarkation a red flag of USSR disappeared from cutter’s mast. It was torn to pieces by UNSO men and thrown in face of hostile RDK representatives, who gathered at the dock. Then a state flag of Ukraine was hoisted on the mast.

While passing the bay near ships and submarines we saw a symbolic scene – when the cutters had approached the war-ships, a blue-yellow state flag of Ukraine was hoisted at one submarine, on which the whole ship crew drew up.

This concrete fact is a vivid evidence of strong patriotic feelings of our sailors from the Black Sea Fleet, that are left to the mercy of fate by “Ukrainian” government.

On March 2 the train happily arrived to Kyiv

 

 

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