Security Service of Ukraine conducts searches at property of leaders of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Kirovohrad Oblast

The SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) officers have conducted searches among the leadership and representatives of the Kirovohrad Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, seizing anti-Ukrainian literature from them. Source: press service of the Security Service of Ukraine Quote: "The correspondence between the Metropolitan of Kirovohrad and Novomyrhorod with Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow was discovered and a large amount of anti-Ukrainian materials produced in the Russian Federation were seized."

Details: The SBU notes that individual representatives of this community are involved in the spread of ideas that encroach on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and incite religious enmity. The searches were conducted in the Kirovohrad and Oleksandriia dioceses, as well as at the places of residence of those involved.

The Security Service specified for Ukrainska Pravda that the searches were conducted last week, in particular on Friday and Saturday.

As the preliminary assessments state, the texts of anti-Ukrainian materials contain signs of criminal offences under Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine) and Article 161 (violation of the equality of citizens, depending on their racial, national, regional belonging, religious beliefs, disability and on other grounds). It is emphasised that these materials were actively distributed among clergymen and believers in order to form among them positions in support of the Russian Federation.

Specifically, the annexation of Crimea was justified.

The author of one of the discovered books is Andrii Novikov, the former secretary of the Odesa diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who moved to the Russian Federation in 2014 because of his pro-Russian position.

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Currently, Novikov runs his own Telegram channel, where he promotes narratives in support of the occupiers, discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and hatred for the Ukrainian nation. All seized materials were sent for examination.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the Security Service of Ukraine has opened 23 criminal proceedings regarding the subversive activities of individual representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

There are already 33 suspects in these cases - from regular information gathering agents to artillery observers.

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