The Ministry of Culture dismissed the Director General of the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" Ostapenko

The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine (MCSC) has dismissed Maksym Ostapenko, the general director of the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra". This was reported by UNN with reference to the press service of the department.

Details

The ministry said that Ostapenko was dismissed "due to improper performance of the contract terms and detected violations in the reserve's activities."

The dismissal order was signed on May 21, 2025.

The decision was made on the basis of a report by Volodymyr Shornikov, Director of the Department for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the MCSC.

At the beginning of May, the Director General of the Reserve was reprimanded, with which he was personally acquainted. The reprimand was announced on the basis of a report by the MCSC Working Group, established to study the current state of accounting, use and preservation of state property under the operational management of the Reserve. The Working Group also checked compliance with the boundaries and regimes of use of the territory and buffer zone of the cultural heritage site

Maksym Ostapenko also commented on his removal from the post of head of the reserve. He said that he was dismissed "without explanations, warnings, or any official comments on his work. And he clarified that recently there have been rumors that a change of the head of the institution is being prepared.

In recent weeks, there have been rumors of a behind-the-scenes struggle for control over the Lavra. We felt the pressure. Obviously, someone was uncomfortable with the fact that we spoke out about the need to cleanse the Lavra of imperial narratives. Someone was bothered by the truth. Someone — our principled position. But this news is not a defeat. It is another confirmation that we are moving in the right direction

Let us remind you

On March 28, an inspection of the state of the near caves located on the territory of the reserve began in the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra". At least, that's how the authorities explained the measures on the territory of the Lavra. Meanwhile, information about the forcible seizure of the complex spread in social networks and the media.