The security service has completed searches at the facilities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which are located in the Kherson, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr and Volyn regions.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) reported this on December 8.
Thus, Russian passports, pro-Kremlin literature, "documents" of the occupation administrations, and "L/DPR" flags were found on the territory of the diocese in Kherson. On the territory of the cathedral, the SSU employees discovered a collection of icons that the Russians stole from the house of the honorary consul of Lithuania during the occupation of Kherson, as well as passes that were written in the name of the "federal adviser of the military-civilian administration of the Russian Federation" and Russian passports of local priests (they received them under time of occupation).
A flag of "New Russia" and a library with propagandist literature by Russian authors were discovered in the Krasnohirsky Holy Pokrovsky Convent of the Cherkasy region.
On the territory of the menʼs monastery of the Ovrutsk-Korosten eparchy and the hermitage in Zhytomyr region, former criminals who maintain contact with subscribers of the Russian Federation were exposed. The SSU is currently checking these contacts.
In another monastery of the Zhytomyr region, a person was found, who has been on the national wanted list since 2020 as a missing person.
During the inspection of the premises of the St. Nicholas Miletsk Monastery, they found texts of prayers for Russia and Russian "textbooks" in which the Kremlin regime is praised.
- At the end of November, the SSU conducted a number of searches in churches, monasteries and laurels of the UOC MP, in particular in Kyiv-Pechersk. The series of searches began after a scandal over a prayer service in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, during which parishioners sang the song "The bell is ringing, itʼs ringing over Russia. Mother Russia is waking up." The priest was informed of suspicion for this.
- Subsequently, the SSU conducted searches in monasteries in Transcarpathia, in the Mukachevo diocese, in the Ivano-Frankivsk diocese, in the Pochaiv seminary, and in the Ternopil diocese. During the searches, numerous evidences of pro-Russian propaganda and probable cooperation of representatives of the UOC MP with Russia were found.
- On December 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine instructed the government to submit to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law banning the activities of religious organizations affiliated with Russia in Ukraine. First of all, this will affect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.