Finnish Church cuts ties with priest who supported Ukrainian refugees but had connections with Russia

This was reported by Hromadske with reference to Yle.

Zanemonets, originally from Russia, arrived in Finland in early March 2022. He stated to journalists that he had previously lived in Israel, from which he boarded a plane to Helsinki.

It later emerged that the man had lived in Israel for most of his adult life; however, in 2021, he moved to Moscow and shared aspects of his life in the Russian capital through social media posts.

The priest also claimed to be fluent in the Ukrainian language and suggested that he himself was of Ukrainian descent. This is why a Finnish parish hired him to work with Ukrainian refugees. However, in reality, Zanemonets' knowledge of Ukrainian was limited.

"While initially he gave the impression that he knew Ukrainian, he wasn't as proficient as expected," said Bishop Sergius of Hamina.

In addition, Ukrainian refugees expressed their concerns about Zanemonets' conduct. In February 2024, on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, he delivered a speech in Russian, discussing brotherly nations and the need for peace and forgiveness while praying for both Russia and Ukraine simultaneously.

Ultimately, the parish decided to terminate its cooperation with him.

Yle contacted the priest, who now works in the U.S., and he admitted that he had arrived in Finland "technically" from Moscow, not from Israel. He attributed the discrepancies in his earlier statements to a language barrier. According to him, he was drawn to Finland by his "love" for the country and invitations from Israeli friends. Although he claimed that Bishop Sergei had invited him to work with refugees, the bishop denied having made such an invitation.

Regarding his Ukrainian language skills, Zanemonets acknowledged that his proficiency was not strong but believed it would not hinder his ability to work with Ukrainians.