A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) who praised the occupiers was exposed in the Dnipropetrovsk region
Law enforcement officials have notified a clergyman of the Sieversk-Donetsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) that he is under suspicion for actively engaging in propaganda activities in support of the aggressor country.
The archimandrite spread hostile propaganda through social media and during personal interactions with believers, justifying the seizure of Ukrainian territories.
According to the investigation, the suspect systematically promoted the ideology of the “Russian World,” publicly praising the actions of the Russian Federation’s top political leadership and the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.
He referred to the temporary occupation of Ukrainian regions as “liberation” and “return home,” denying the fact of armed aggression.
The clergyman’s history of collaboration with the enemy began more than ten years ago during the first phase of the war in the east.
In 2014, the man openly supported pro-Russian illegal armed groups and left for Russia, but later decided to return.
After returning to Ukraine, the clergyman continued his activities at one of the churches in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Despite the change in his location, he maintained close ties with church circles in the aggressor state and representatives of the occupation administrations in the Luhansk region.
With the start of the full-scale invasion, his anti-Ukrainian rhetoric only intensified, prompting a thorough investigation by the SBU and the prosecutor’s office.
During authorized searches of the suspect’s residence, numerous pieces of evidence of his illegal activities were discovered.
Law enforcement officials seized mobile phones and computer equipment that the archimandrite used to coordinate his propaganda activities.
An examination of the seized materials is currently underway, and the cleric himself is charged with violating Part 1 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
A Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church who justified the war has been charged in Ukraine
As a reminder, the SBU and the National Police have exposed 20 organizers of draft evasion schemes across Ukraine.
Also this year, over 270 organizers of schemes to smuggle draft dodgers abroad were exposed in Zakarpattia.
