Catholic priest denies occupiers’ crimes in Bucha, now he waits for trial

A Catholic priest in Zhytomyr Oblast was informed of suspicion for previously calling Russians’ crimes in Bucha "a staged performance" and urged people not to trust the statements made by Ukrainian authorities.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine; Prosecutor's Office in Zhytomyr Oblast

Quote from the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU): "The Security Service collected evidence of anti-Ukraine activities of the parish priest of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Diocese of the Catholic Church.

He has publicly justified the Russian Federation’s armed aggression and denied war crimes of the Russian invaders committed against Ukrainians. In his speeches in front of followers, the priest has called the facts of numerous murders and tortures of people in Bucha, committed by the Ruscists, ‘a staged performance’."

Details: In addition, the priest has urged not to trust the official information provided by Ukrainian state bodies and media outlets regarding war crimes committed by the aggressor, but to trust him as he has supposedly been in Kyiv Oblast during the temporary siege.

The priest was notified of suspicion as per Art. 436-2.1 (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participant) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The Prosecutor’s Office reported that the indictment regarding the 50-year-old priest has been sent to court.

Background:

• On 1 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to propose that the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) institute a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), and also initiated a review of the legality of the UOC-MP’s presence at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves).
• On the same day, Zelenskyy put into effect personal sanctions against representatives of religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in the Russian Federation.
• Later, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) published a full list of 10 individuals connected with the UOC-MP who have been sanctioned. 
• Moreover, the SSU has conducted a number of searches on the premises of the UOC-MP. Searches were conducted in Zhytomyr, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and other oblasts.

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