A novice of the Pochaiv Lavra was sentenced to five years. He praised the occupiers and had an outstanding conviction for murder

A novice of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra was sentenced to five years behind bars with confiscation of property for collaborationism and justification of the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine (Part 1 of Article 111-1; Part 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code).

The Office of the Prosecutor General writes about it.

The prosecutor proved that the man supported the Russian occupation, praised the occupiers and asked to pray for them on the Odnoklassniki and VKontakte social networks, banned in Ukraine.

Calls for support of the occupation administration of Russia and discrediting of the Ukrainian military were also found in his publications.

The novice had an outstanding conviction for murder and had been living on the territory of the monastery since 2017. There he worked in the farm yard.

In addition to imprisonment and confiscation of property, he was banned for 15 years from holding positions in law enforcement agencies, state authorities, local governments, and public service agencies.

• The Pochaiv Lavra was leased to the UOC MP in 2003, this contract is valid until 2052. The Pochaiv Lavra complex includes 18 buildings, six of which are on the balance sheet of the Kremenets-Pochaiv state historical and architectural reserve. In February 2023, the head of the Ternopil Regional Council Mykhailo Holovko reported on the first meeting of the working group studying the legality of using the complex of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra of the UOC MP.