Clergyman from Moscow-linked church who blessed Russian troops during Izium occupation is exposed
Law enforcement officers in Kharkiv Oblast have uncovered a clergyman from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) who publicly justified Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
Source: press service of the Security Service of Ukraine; Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office; Ukrainska Pravda source in law enforcement
The Ukrainska Pravda source reported that the clergyman is Mykhailo Pimashyn (who took the religious name Matvii), abbot of the Monastery of the Pishchansk Icon of the Mother of God in the Izium diocese of the UOC-MP.
During the temporary occupation of the Izium area in August 2022, the 36-year-old clergyman voluntarily supported the Russian occupiers and called upon other local residents to "follow his example".
He gave interviews to propagandistic Russian media outlets in which he justified and denied Russia’s armed aggression.
According to the investigation, Pimashyn publicly claimed that the local religious community is subordinate exclusively to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Accordingly, the clergyman, on his own initiative, wrote a letter to an associate of Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill with a request for "humanitarian aid" to be sent to the occupied part of the oblast.
Pimashyn later used the Russian supplies to ensure the local population’s loyalty to the occupiers.
In addition, he gave numerous interviews to Kremlin propagandists who visited occupied Izium.
In his comments he discredited Ukrainian troops, denied the facts of the Russian aggression, and treated fallen occupiers as heroes.
On the grounds of the evidence collected, Pimashyn was served with a notice of suspicion for justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine using the media.
The pre-trial restrictive measure is being determined. All the circumstances of the crime are being established.
Pimashyn faces a sentence of up to eight years in prison.
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