The SBU reported suspicion to the Metropolitan of the Kirovohrad Diocese of the UOC-MP, who justified the seizure of Crimea

This was reported by the SBU on their Facebook page.

According to the report, the Metropolitan maintained constant contact with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and carried out his instructions to justify Russian aggression and seize part of the territory of Ukraine, in particular the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Instructions from Moscow were received in the form of written circulars, as well as during personal meetings on the territory of the Russian Federation.

It is established that enemy propaganda literature was distributed to people in the churches of the community, which was printed in thousands of copies in the printing houses of the aggressor country.

In these books, Russian "authors" questioned Ukrainian statehood and praised the Kremlin regime.

During searches on the diocese's territory, law enforcement officers found many enemy printed materials and documents with evidence of correspondence with Moscow "supervisors".

According to the conclusions of an independent expert examination initiated by the SBU, the Metropolitan's criminal activities threaten the state security of Ukraine.

On the basis of the collected evidence base, he was informed of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 161 (violation of equal rights of citizens depending on their race, national, regional affiliation, religious beliefs, disability and other grounds) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The pre-trial investigation continues to establish all the circumstances of the offense.

Measures to expose criminal actions were carried out by employees of the SBU of the Kirovohrad region under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor's Office.