SSU raids Moscow-linked churches: discover Russian symbols, property of invaders and Medvedchuk’s propaganda

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has conducted counterintelligence operations within the dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in Kherson, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Rivne oblasts. Source: SSU press service Quote: "Libraries with pro-Kremlin literature, propaganda leaflets of political parties banned in Ukraine, and Russian symbols have been discovered on the premises of churches."

Details: In particular, on the premises of the Church of St John of Kronstadt in Kherson Oblast, former storage points with the property of occupation groups have been found.

The invaders had equipped them with the assistance of Archpriest Anatolii Korniev, the parson of the church. He had established contact with the leadership of the occupation administration, and he was in direct contact with representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). During the liberation of Kherson, the clergyman fled together with his Russian "overseers" to the Left Bank of the Dnipro River.

During searches at the Mezhyrich Holy Trinity Monastery in Rivne Oblast, propaganda materials of the organisation associated with Viktor Medvedchuk were discovered.

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In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the SSU officers prevented an attempt to export pro-Kremlin literature from the local diocese. When leaving the territory of the church, law enforcement officers stopped a car, from which they seized the circulation of pamphlets of the banned Opposition Platform -- For Life party and other anti-Ukrainian materials.

The secretary of the Kirovohrad diocese has also been informed of suspicion under Article 161.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of citizens' equality based on their race, ethnicity, or religious preferences). All the evidence found has been sent for examination.

After that, other procedural actions will be performed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Background:

• On 1 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) had instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to propose that the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) institute a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), and also initiated a review of the legality of the UOC-MP's presence at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves).
• Also, Volodymyr Zelenskyy put into effect personal sanctions against representatives of religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in the Russian Federation. 
• Later, the SSU published a list of 10 people related to the UOC-MP, which were sanctioned.
• The SSU conducted some searches in the institutions of the UOC-MP.

  In particular, searches were carried out in Zhytomyr, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and other oblasts.

• Vasyl Maliuk, the acting head of the SSU, stated that the Security Service of Ukraine would continue to investigate the activities of Russian agents who operate under the guise of church activities.

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