Zaporizhzhia 'Orthodox activist' sentenced to life in prison for high treason

This was written by the head of the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, Serhii Sydorov, Religion in Ukraine reports.

Since the sentence has not yet entered into force, the convicts may appeal against it, and therefore the names of the traitors are not mentioned in the publication.

One of the defendants in the case had been a member of the Orthodox Radomir Union NGO for several years, which may be remembered from the events of 2018 when guards with corresponding patches were noticed at UOC-MP churches and during their processions. In 2018, the SBU seized weapons from Radomir's office, but the organization did not stop its work. Instead, it became as non-public as possible. The organization cooperated with Metropolitan Luka (Kovalenko) of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol of the UOC-MP.

During the search, the “Orthodox activist's” ID card from the aforementioned organization “Union Orthodox Radomir” was seized. Also, in his correspondence with the Russians, the man mentioned membership in this structure as his positive trait: “If the 'Radomir' group is talking about anything, it's us. I am the founder and commander”.

According to the defendant, he had a negative attitude towards the Ukrainian authorities, especially the SBU, because of their oppression of the Church.

The court found both guilty of high treason. “The 'Radomyrivets' man was sentenced to life imprisonment, while his accomplice was sentenced to 15 years in prison.