The SSU announced suspicion to the abbot of the monastery in the Izyum diocese of the UOC under Part 3 of Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine using the media).

“During the temporary occupation of the region, he voluntarily supported the Russian invaders and, by his own example, called on other local residents to do the same. The man publicly stated that the local religious community is subordinate exclusively to the Russian Orthodox Church. He also wrote a letter to the assistant of the Moscow Patriarch Kirill with a request to send “humanitarian aid” to the occupied part of the region.

The SSU stated that the governor “consecrated the Russian military during the occupation of Izyum.”

“He repeatedly spoke to the cameras of the Kremlin propagandists who came to Izyum, which was captured at that time. In his comments, he discredited the Ukrainian defenders, denied the facts of Russian aggression and glorified the destroyed invaders,” the SSU added.

Now the issue of choosing a measure of restraint is being decided, the clergyman faces up to 8 years in prison.