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Are against expanding its influence

In July 2016, a pilgrimage of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyivan Patriarchate) from the east and the west of Ukraine to Kiev provoked controversy. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyivan Patriarchate) indicated that the real goal of the pilgrimage was to demonstrate the favour of the Ukrainians to the idea of the Russian world. The Ukrainian nationalists opposed the pilgrimage. Due to the fear of provocations, the authorities ordered the National Guard to protect the route of the pilgrimage near Kiev. The activists in Kiev protest the illegal sacral buildings of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). One of such buildings, a small Orthodox church, was built in 2007 in the centre of Kiev, near the foundations of the Church of the Tithes, on the territory of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine and without the appropriate building permit. In January 2018, two young architects and activists protesting against building of the church tried to set fire near the door of the illegal temple. They were arrested for 60 days. It caused protests to defend them and against the illegal building. As a result, the perpetrators are released pending trial.