According to the materials of the Security Service of Ukraine, the metropolitan of the Vinnytsia Diocese of the UOC MP will be tried. He faces up to eight years in prison for spreading Russian propaganda, supporting the occupation and encroaching on the integrity of Ukraine.
The SBU complained that the metropolitan posted publications in support of Russian war crimes on one of the websites of the Russian Orthodox Church. During the searches, pro-Kremlin propaganda and literature were found in his possession, and the examination confirmed the facts of the bishopʼs illegal activities.
The metropolitanʼs actions are qualified under four articles of the Criminal Code — Part 2 of Art. 109, Part 1 of Art. 110, Part 2 of Art. 161 and Part 3 of Art. 436-2. The indictment has already been sent to the court.
- 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.
- After that, the SBU began to conduct a series of searches in churches, monasteries and laurels of the UOC MP. In most cases, law enforcement officers found evidence of pro-Russian activities of dioceses and clergy.