Swedish authorities say a network of nuns from the St. Elizabeth Monastery used charitable activities as a cover to raise money for Russian forces involved in the war in Ukraine. The nuns operated across at least 20 churches in Sweden, according to reporting by The Telegraph.
Swedish authorities and church officials have raised concerns that foreign actors are using religious and cultural channels to advance political and military objectives.
Church of Sweden issued warnings
The Church of Sweden has issued warnings to other Catholic communities about the sisters, who were informally dubbed “Z-nuns” in Sweden, for their use of the “Z” symbol associated with Russian forces in Ukraine.
According to the Church of Sweden, the convent “use their income to support Russian nationalism, support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and have close ties with GRU,” Russia’s military intelligence service.
Photographs circulated in Swedish media show the sisters in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories wearing flak jackets and interacting with Russian soldiers to "boost morale".
Church sales channeled to Russian military units
Items sold in Swedish churches were reportedly funneled to support Russian military units. The sisters had previously been banned from visiting Winchester Cathedral in Britain in 2022 over their stance on the war.
The nuns were allowed to sell handicrafts, wooden icons, and knitwear in churches in Täby, a suburb of Stockholm, where the local rector had invited them without knowing their ties to the Belarusian convent or Russian military intelligence.
"Rude awakening" for Sweden
Kristina Smith, head of the Church of Sweden’s crisis planning group, told The Telegraph that the church refused to rent facilities to the Russian Orthodox Church after it sought locations near military bases.
Smith described the situation as a “rude awakening” for Sweden and emphasized that the nuns’ activities revealed how foreign actors can use religious networks for political and military purposes.
