Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has identified 33 agents and “adjusters of fire” among representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOCMP), reported acting SBU Head Vasyl Maliuk on Oct. 27, 2022, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“If we take the period since the beginning of the full-scale war, SBU has opened 23 criminal proceedings against potential Russian agents in UOCMP, and there are already 33 suspects – from classic agents of collecting in-depth information to simple fire adjusters in cassocks,” he said.
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According to the Ukrainian special service head, the UOCMP has an ideal environment from which the enemy can function.
“Therefore, we are working on this direction qualitatively,” Maliuk assured.
Recently, in the Vinnytsia region, a priest of the UOCMP was detained, who, according to Maliuk, “was a groupmate of Kirill Gundyaev (head of the Russian Orthodox Church) and constantly communicated with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.”
On May 27, the council of the UOCMP adopted a resolution in which it expressed disagreement with the position of Patriarch Kirill on the war against Ukraine, with additions and amendments to the statute of the UOCMP, which “testify to the full autonomy and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
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Patriarch Kirill often mentions military action in his sermons. Among other things, he said that external forces provoked the war to weaken Russia and justified reasons for the Russian invasion.
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