The Security Service of Ukraine has blocked a channel for distributing anti-Ukrainian literature through a network of church shops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the agency reports.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been a tool used by the Kremlin to advance its political interests and infiltrate other countries. It is often accused of hypocrisy by weaponizing faith to undermine democracies, while Moscow disregards religious freedom.
Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has supported the Kremlin’s aggressive war in Ukraine, while its priests consecrate weapons that the invaders use to attack the country. Russian church continues operating in Ukraine as it is impossible to ban religious organizations straightaway. However, Ukrainian priests said they refused to support Russia’s war and cut ties with Moscow church leadership.
In practice, many Russian churches and their employees continue their subversive activities covertly and persist in spreading propaganda among believers.
During the recent investigation, anti-Ukrainian literature was found in Uzhhorod, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv on the premises of one of the Russian church shop networks. Among the seized publications were pro-Russian publications that promoted religious intolerance and justified Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The owners of these shops ordered the propaganda literature from a printing house in the Ternopil region. The law enforcement initiated a forensic linguistic examination, which confirmed that the found copies contained calls for inter-confessional hostility and religious intolerance.
According to the investigation, the mass distribution of the publications aimed to destabilize the socio-political situation in Ukraine, which could have benefited Russia.
Based on the evidence collected, the owner of one of the shops has been notified of suspicion of the import, production, or distribution of works that promote the cult of violence and cruelty, racial, national, or religious intolerance and discrimination.
The investigation continues to establish all the circumstances of the crime and to bring to justice all individuals involved in sabotage acts against Ukraine.
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