The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained the abbot of one of the UOC MP churches in Vinnytsia region. The priest denied Russian aggression and justified the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine. Now he will be kept in custody.
This was reported by SBU press service.
In Telegram, he wrote about the "civil war" in Ukraine, praised the terrorists of the "DPR" Oleksandr Zakharchenko, "Givi" and "Motorola", and insulted the religious feelings of representatives of various faiths. The archpriest also campaigned against Ukraine during sermons and communication with believers.
On the basis of the collected evidence, the investigators of the Security Service notified the cleric of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2 of Art. 436-2 (justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants);
- Part 2 of Art. 109 (actions aimed at the violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or at the seizure of state power).
The priest was hiding from law enforcement officers in several regions of Ukraine, but he was apprehended. He will be in the pre-trial detention center.
- In October, the Security Service of Ukraine informed that since the beginning of the full-scale war, it had exposed more than 60 representatives of the UOC MP, who were working in the Russian Federation, selling weapons and child pornography.