Raids of Moscow Patriarchate churches continue in four regions of Ukraine
A flag of the astroturfed “Novorossiya” was found on the territory of one of the dioceses (Photo:SBU)
Ukraine’s SBU security service is continuing to conduct raids on facilities belong-ing to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Moscow Patriarchate (UOC–MP), with the latest raids taking place in Kherson, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, and Volyn oblasts, the SBU reported on Facebook on Dec. 8.
A number of the raids uncovered Russian passports that were issued follow-ing the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
According to the SBU, the law enforcers also found pro-Kremlin literature, papers belonging to the occupation administrations, and flags of the astroturfed “Novorossiya” ideology and the Donbas puppet authorities.
The SBU also says it established that during the occupation of Kherson by Russian troops, the local archimandrite of the Assumption Cathedral was present in the Kremlin during the announcement of the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts. He had disappeared a few days prior to the city’s liberation.
Meanwhile, a collection of icons stolen by Russians from the building of the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania during the occupation of Kherson was also found in the cathedral premises.
The SBU also stated that it had found passes issued in the name of the "federal advisor of the military-civilian administration of the Russian Federation".
Meanwhile, in a monastery in Cherkasy Oblast, law enforcement officers are said to have discovered a “Novorossiya” flag and a library containing Russian imperialist propaganda.
On Nov. 22, the SBU raided one of Eastern Orthodoxy’s most holiest sites: the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as well as a UOC-MP monastery in Rivne Oblast. The raids followed the publication of a video on social media that appeared to depict churchgoers at the Lavra, which is run by the UOC-MP, singing a pro-Russian song.
The Ukrainian government then initiated criminal proceedings on charges of glorification of the "Russian world”, and tasked the SBU with raiding UOC-MP facilities across Ukraine.
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