He called the Russian invasion a “forced measure” and justified the shelling of Ukraine. Putinʼs spiritual mentor was indicted in absentia

Ukrainian law enforcement officers reported suspicions in absentia to Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) Georgy Shevkunov (Tikhon), who is called Putinʼs main spiritual mentor and one of the leading ideologists of the Kremlin regime.

This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office (PGO).

As the investigation found, Tikhon was one of the first to support Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, he was appointed head of the so-called Crimean Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church, which included the Dzhankoi, Simferopol, and Feodosia dioceses.

In this position, he promoted Russian propaganda.

Shevkunov called the Russian invasion a "terrible and forced measure" supposedly necessary to protect Russia, and Ukraine a "projectile against the Russian Federation" created by external forces.

The metropolitan presented the Russian-Ukrainian war as a "civil" one, claimed that Russia was allegedly pushed into it by external enemies, and called its goal "victory" over Nazism, fascism, and the "misogynistic system" in Ukraine.

In addition, Tikhon regularly participates in public speeches, where he justifies the shelling of Ukrainian cities and campaigns for the further occupation of the entire territory of Ukraine.

Metropolitan Tikhon is charged in absentia with encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine and justifying the Russian Federationʼs armed aggression against Ukraine and glorifying its participants.

• Since 2022, Georgy Shevkunov has been under sanctions by Ukraine, and since 2026, by the European Union.

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