In the Odesa region, a clergyman of the Moscow Patriarchate was arrested on suspicion of treason

At the request of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a court remanded a 55-year-old clergyman from a Russian Orthodox Church in the Odesa district into custody without the possibility of bail. He is suspected of passing information about Ukrainian military and energy facilities to Russian intelligence agencies.

According to the investigation, in 2024, the man systematically communicated via the Telegram messenger app with a representative of the Russian special services. Law enforcement officials claim that the suspect held anti-Ukrainian views, supported Russia’s armed aggression, and sought ways to assist the enemy.

The investigation established that the clergyman received assignments from his handler to gather information on:

• the locations of military facilities;
• critical and energy infrastructure facilities;
• security features of strategic facilities.

In March 2024, according to the investigation, he passed on to the enemy the geographic coordinates of a fuel and energy complex and one of the energy facilities in the Odesa region, as well as information about their protective structures.

In addition, the suspect allegedly disclosed the coordinates of a mobile fire group that was on combat duty and provided data on available military equipment.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the collected data was sent to a supervisor and subsequently reached the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces.

The man is charged with treason—intentionally aiding representatives of the aggressor state in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine under martial law (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

At the same time, in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

As a reminder, a 25-year-old resident of the Dnipropetrovsk region is suspected of treason—according to the investigation, he used Telegram to transmit data on the positions of Ukrainian troops and military equipment to Russian intelligence services. To maintain secrecy, he used the phone of his 10-year-old nephew.