The Security Service has collected large-scale evidence on four high-ranking Russian clerics bolstering the Kremlin regime in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine.
This was reported by the SBU press service.
All of the offenders are members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church:
- Head of the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate - Metropolitan Varsonofy (Anatoly Sudakov);
- Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church - Metropolitan Anthony (Anton Sevriuk)
- Metropolitan Georgy Ponomarev, head of the Kolomna Diocese and patriarchal vicar of the Moscow Metropolis;
- Metropolitan Dionysius (Petro Porubai), Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate.
According to the case files, in 2022-2023, they facilitated the seizure of property of Ukrainian churches on the left bank of the Kherson region, as well as in Crimea and the temporarily occupied districts of Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions.
To achieve this, the suspects, under the leadership of Patriarch Gundyaev, secured the decision of the Russian Synod to “join” Ukrainian religious communities to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Thus, Russian clerics seized churches, church buildings, and land in the dioceses of Dzhankoi, Berdiansk, Rovenky, and Kherson and appointed bishops controlled by Moscow.
Subsequently, the proxies of the aggressor country imposed Kremlin narratives on the faithful, blessing the ROC's war against Ukraine and justifying the crimes of the occupiers.
Based on the collected evidence, Sudakov, Sevriuk, Porubai and Ponomarev were served suspicion notices in absentia under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (aiding and abetting in the commission of intentional actions to change the boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, which led to other grave consequences).
Currently, comprehensive measures are being taken to bring the offenders to justice for crimes against our state.
The investigation was conducted under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office.