The Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the National Police have noted that law enforcement agencies have coped with the task of ensuring the safety of a religious procession of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which was held in Kyiv on Friday on the occasion of the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine.

"In total, about 5,000 Interior Ministry employees were involved. If we talk about the number of participants in this event, according to preliminary estimates, there were up to 20,000 people. I emphasize that we did not have any significant incidents and violations of law and order," First Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy told journalists in Kyiv on Friday after the UOC-MP procession.

Head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv Andriy Kryschenko said that three people had been detained outside the building of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine during the procession.

"They did not fulfill some legitimate demands of police officers. These individuals were walking in front of the column, delaying the movement, and the police had reasonable suspicions that they could commit a provocation," he said.

Kryschenko stressed that a more accurate assessment of the actions of these people and the reason for their detention would be established a little later.

He also noted that the level of security during the procession had not been reduced compared to previous years.

Yarovy, in turn, said that law enforcement officers had improved methods of work in recent years.

"We carry out additional preventive measures, in particular, in the places where the participants of mass events gather, and we already have a lot of experience here," he said.

UOC-MP Metropolitan Antoniy (Pakanych), in turn, said that according to the UOC-MP estimates, 250,000 people had taken part in the procession.

"According to our first estimates, more than 250,000 people took part in the procession," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

In addition, according to him, representatives of 12 local churches took part in the event.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter, a column of believers descended from Saint Volodymyr Hill to the European Square for about 90 minutes.