SBU purges Russian agents of the UOC-MP, - expert opinion
According to "DS", this was reported by political expert Taras Zagorodny.
He says this was confirmed by the SBU searches of Metropolitan Ionafan in the Vinnytsia region, who was charged with inciting religious hatred and supporting Russian aggression.
"At last, the SBU set to seriously work on the Muscovite clergy. I think the two factors converge here. First, there is a war in the country, and it is impossible to delay further because Russian agents in Ukrainian churches spread theses of Russian propaganda every day. Secondly, with the appointment of Vasyl Malysh as head of the SBU, the service finally began to disclose FSB agents in cassocks," the expert notes.
According to Zagorodny, the Moscow Patriarchate's clergy pool still comprises many Russian special services agents with KGB officer shoulder straps.
"Throughout 30 years of independence, they've been preaching the Russian World to Ukrainian parishioners, and today they justify the invasion of the Russian Federation. And some of the UOC-MP clergymen were attending the ceremony in the Kremlin when Putin signed documents on the annexation of parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions in September," Zagorodny wrote.
According to the expert, such actions of the SBU are the beginning of a purge of the Russian agent network among the clergy.
"The searches of a Muscovite clergyman constitute a significant signal to society how the special services will tackle the church issue. There is hope that the SBU will finally purge the Russian agents in cassocks," Zagorodny said.
He also suggested that if pro-Russian clergymen are detained, they should be exchanged for the Azov fighters or other POWs. In addition, the expert believed that the ban on the UOC-MP at the state level is quite real.
"If the SBU has managed to collect evidence for banning the Opposition Block 'For LIfe' Party and the Party of Shariy, then we can already work on a complete ban on the Moscow church in Ukraine," said Taras Zagorodny.
