Ukraine's Security Service on threats presented by Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate: 33 agents and artillery observers in cassocks

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO — THURSDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2022, 10:46

Vasyl Maliuk, the acting head of Ukraine’s Security Service, has assured the public that the Security Service is aware of all the potential threats of Russian influence in the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), and the Service is doing good work in this area.

Source: Maliuk, in an exclusive interview with the news agency Interfax-Ukraine

Quote from Maliuk: "Yes, threats [of Russian influence in the activities of the UOC-MP on the territory of Ukraine] are present. But I would be wrong if I said this was a threat that the Security Service cannot influence and document in a timely manner."

Details: Maliuk says this environment [the UOC-MP] is the ideal arena in which the invader’s residency can function, so this is an area where detailed work is being done.

Maliuk recalled the detention of a "priest" in Vinnytsia Oblast "who was a classmate of Gundyaev [Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church – ed.] and in constant contact with the FSB."

Maliuk said law enforcement officers had found evidence to confirm this, including correspondence in messaging apps.

Quote from Maliuk: "If we take the period since the beginning of the war, we have opened 23 criminal proceedings against such individuals, and we already have 33 suspects ranging from classic agents gathering detailed information to banal artillery observers in cassocks."

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