SBU detains UOC-MP church chorister for guiding Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian military units in Zaporizhzhya Oblast
A church chorister and the wife of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) rector has been detained for guiding Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces positions near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Telegram on Dec. 13.
The unnamed woman gathered information on Ukrainian military units engaged in counteroffensive operations in the Berdyansk and Melitopol sectors of the front.
She had repeatedly expressed her desire for Russia to fully occupy the region in telephone conversations with acquaintances in Moscow.
Read also: Pochayiv Lavra searched in criminal case in Moscow Patriarchate leadership’s role in inciting hatred
Subsequently, she began tracking Ukrainian military personnel and equipment, and passing this information to her handlers in Russia, who in turn shared it with the enemy special services.
During a search of her residence, the detainee's cell phone was seized. Evidence was subsequently found that she had shared classified information.
The woman was charged with unauthorized dissemination of classified information on the dispatch, transfer of weapons, arms, and ammunition, movement, transfer, or deployment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. She faces up to 8 years in prison.
UOC-MP in Ukraine
Moscow has used the Russian Orthodox Church as a KGB front for decades and the UOC-MP has played a prominent political role since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said SBU.
Read also: Russian Orthodox Church priest attack soldier in Chernihiv, bites his arm
The Ukrainian government has been taking measures to restrict the activities of the UOC-MP, including proposing a ban on religious organizations with control centers in aggressor countries.
Since November of last year, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has been conducting inspections in monasteries, churches and premises of the UOC-MP all over Ukraine. During the counterintelligence activities, a large amount of pro-Russian literature was found, as well as Russians with suspicious documents.
On Jan. 19, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Parliament a bill to ban the activities of Russian-controlled religious organizations.
The State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience said the religious expert examination concluded that the UOC remains a structural unit of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Earlier, a number of Ukrainian regions decided to ban the UOC-MP activities at the regional level.
We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
