According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the so-called 'Ministry of State Security of the DPR' financed and controlled individuals who tried to burn churches of the UOC-MP in the areas controlled by the Ukrainian government.
This is stated in the reports of the US Department of State, according to the Spiritual Front.
In particular, the DPR terrorists tried to commit arson in the city of Zaporizhia (January 6 and 11), Kryvyy Rih (February 15), and again in the city of Zaporizhia (near the chapel near the Church of St. John the Theologian of the UOC-MP). The organizers, who are reportedly based in the "DPR", paid arsonists for each attack and instructed them to draw Nazi graffiti on the walls of UOC-MP buildings.
Thus, inter-confessional hostility is being kindled in Ukraine, to later accuse of arson the pro-Ukrainian side, in particular the faithful of the OCU. As reported, in Odessa and other regions several churches of the Moscow Patriarchate were set on fire. The UOC-MP put all the blame on the faithful with the pro-Ukrainian sentiment, though later the police explained that all the arson occurred through negligence, and the monastery in Odessa was set on fire by a former novice of the UOC-MP.
This policy - incitement of the sectarian strife - is ideal for creating an image of the "persecuted Church", allowing to further speak about the fascists and Bandera who are burning the "canonical churches". Kremlin propagandists have already made such statements. For example, the UOC-MP considers the creation of a Church that is independent of Moscow to be an impetus for religious war.
Last year, the SSU released video evidence of preparation, arson and detention of the perpetrators, who were residents of Zaporizhia, and who are now providing witness statements to law enforcement.