On October 19, Russian invaders forcibly expelled Svyatoslav Pitersky, a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, from the occupied territory of the Zaporizhia region.
This was reported by propagandist media, according to 1 Pershy Zaporizky.
"Svyatoslav Pitersky is an archpriest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, an opponent of referendums. He denied the results of the referendum on reunification with Russia in his speeches. On October 18, the man became the first to be expelled from the Zaporizhia region after the referendum," the invaders argued for their decision to deport them.
Despite the pressure of the Russian military, the clergyman, who enjoys authority among his parishioners, did not switch to the side of the invaders and did not support the idea of a referendum.
"I lived for almost 74 years with one passport. Now, having lived to grey hair, I don't want to change it," Pitersky explained to the invaders, wrote his complaints to the Russian government and refused a second offer to get a Russian passport.
This is not the first time that the invaders' administration has "deported" citizens who somehow show their patriotic position. Propaganda media position this as" adherence to the criminal Kyiv regime", "discrediting the authorities", and "destabilizing the socio-political situation".