The Security Service of Ukraine has completed counterintelligence (security) activities at the UOC-MP facilities in Kherson, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Rivne regions.
Libraries with pro-Kremlin literature, propaganda leaflets of political parties banned in Ukraine and Russian symbols were found on the territory of churches, the official website of the SBU reports.
As a result of investigative and operational actions, the secretary of the Diocese of Kirovohrad was served a notice of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of equal rights of citizens depending on their race, national, and regional affiliation and religious beliefs).
In addition, former warehouses with Russian occupation groups' property were found on the Church of St. John of Kronstadt territory in the Kherson region.
It is established that the invaders equipped them with the assistance of the rector of the church, archpriest Anatoly Kornev. He established contact with the leadership of the occupation administration and was in direct contact with representatives of the FSB.
During the liberation of Kherson, the cleric fled together with his Russian "curators" to the Left Bank of the Dnieper.
As a result of searches in the premises of the Holy Trinity Mezhyrych monastery in the Rivne region, propaganda materials of the public association headed by Viktor Medvedchuk, suspected of high treason, were found.
And in the Dnipropetrovsk region, SBU officers prevented an attempt to export pro-Kremlin literature from the local diocese. When leaving the territory of the church, law enforcement officers stopped a car, from which they seized the circulation of pamphlets of the banned party "Opposition Platform For Life" and other anti-Ukrainian materials.
Now all the discovered evidence has been sent for examination. After that, other procedural actions will be performed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The SBU once again emphasizes that in its activities, they adhere to the principle of impartiality to the activities of any religious denomination and respect the right of every citizen to freedom of worldview and religion, as defined by the Constitution of Ukraine.
Security measures were carried out by SBU officers of the Kherson, Kirovohrad, Rivne and Dnipropetrovsk regions.