UOC-MP stated that they are not going to leave the Lavra

This is reported by DW.

In his address published on the monastery's website on Monday, March 13, Metropolitan Pavlo stated that while the UOC-MP does not object to inspections, they should be notified in advance, and representatives of the monastery should be invited to the commission. He emphasized that the Lavra is the property of the Church and has been so for a long time. "They intimidate us saying that this is state property. This is the property of the Church! It has been and will be. We are not against the state. We are for the state. But it can't be that way!" he said.

Metropolitan Pavlo emphasized that he did not object to any legitimate actions and that the UOC-MP had no intention of leaving the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. He pointed out that the laws were on their side and that they would not be intimidated, as had been the case in 1917.

"We are not collaborators. We are citizens of our own state. We have been living here since 1988. For many of us, this is the only home we know. We have given our youth and our lives to this place," he added.

On March 10, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Reserve issued a warning, stating that the UOC-MP's Holy Dormition Kyiv Pechersk Lavra must vacate the buildings belonging to the Reserve by March 29. The decision was made by the government interdepartmental working group, which found that the monastery had violated the terms of the contract for the use of state property.

The UOC-MP dismissed the decision as "a whim of officials from the Ministry of Culture." In a statement published on its website, the church stated that "the only reason for resettling monks from the Orthodox shrine is only the whim of officials from the Ministry of Culture, just as it was under Soviet rule in the 1960s."

The entire complex of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is owned by the state, but for many years, a significant portion of its buildings had been leased to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). However, the lease agreement for the UOC-MP for the Holy Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church within the monastery expired on January 1. Following this, the Ministry of Culture advised against extending the lease agreement, effectively putting an end to the UOC-MP's use of these buildings.