The Security Service has collected evidence of anti-Ukrainian activities of a cleric of the Ovruch-Korosten Diocese of the UOC-MP in the Zhytomyr region.
This was reported by the SBU press service.
According to the case materials, after the beginning of the full-scale war, the defendant imposed pro-Russian views on his parishioners in his sermons and shared posts on social media justifying Russia's war against Ukraine.
Among other things, the cleric presented the Russian invasion of our country as a “civil conflict” and justified the war crimes of the ruscists.
In addition, the defendant publicly insulted the religious views of believers of other faiths, as well as called for support for the Russian Orthodox Church, recorded his anti-Ukrainian speeches on camera and then posted the video on his own Facebook page.
The SBU-initiated examinations confirmed the facts of the cleric's information and subversive activities in favor of the aggressor country.
According to the spokesperson for the Zhytomyr Region Prosecutor's Office, Tetiana Hosha, the priest began his anti-Ukrainian subversive activities in 2014.
According to the prosecutor's office, it was found that the suspect, after Sunday services, spoke disparagingly about Ukrainian national heroes in his sermons and gave instructions to parishioners in response to the call: “Glory to Ukraine” to remain silent, as he does.
“In the church singing, the priest glorified the 'Russian land', called Russia his 'fatherland' and urged the faithful to pray for it. In September 2024, he distributed a video of a Russian propagandist, a former member of the OPZZh (Opposition Platform – For Life), who is accused of treason,” said Tetiana Hosha.
Based on the evidence collected, the SBU investigators served the suspect a notice of suspicion under parts 1, 2, and 3 of Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants).
The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime. The offender faces up to 8 years in prison.
The comprehensive measures were taken by the SBU Office in the Zhytomyr region under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor's Office.