The archimandrite of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Russian Orthodox Church justified Russiaʼs war — he was suspected

The law enforcement officers informed about the suspicion of a cleric of the Kyiv monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP), who justified Russiaʼs war against Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) without the name of the person involved in the case, but the publication Liga.net writes that it is about the archimandrite of the Svyato-Vvedenskyi Monastery Volodymyr.

The investigation established that the cleric justified Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine on social networks and spread fakes about the socio-political situation in the country.

During searches of the suspectʼs whereabouts in the premises of the UOC MP monastery, law enforcement officers found evidence of criminal acts. The suspect in the case faces up to five years in prison with confiscation of property.

• On August 20, the Verkhovna Rada banned the activities of religious organizations associated with Russia on the territory of Ukraine. On August 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law. It enters into force 30 days after its publication. At the same time, the UOC MP communities will have 9 months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 100 UOC MP priests have been involved in criminal cases.