Ukraine's Security Service serves clergyman of Russia-linked church with notice of suspicion after search – photos

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has served a clergyman of a monastery in Kyiv, which is part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), with a notice of suspicion. The reason is that the cleric justified Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Source: press service of the SSU; a source of Ukrainska Pravda in law enforcement

Details: The name of the person of interest was not mentioned in the statement of the SSU; however, sources of Ukrainska Pravda report that it is Archimandrite Volodymyr (Oleksii Rakk) of the St. Vvedensky (Presentation of Mary – ed.) Monastery of the UOC-MP where the SSU conducted searches on 18 September.

The investigation reports that the clergyman, aged 39, justified the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on social media and spread fake news about the social and political situation in Ukraine.

Based on collected evidence, the investigators of the SSU served the archimandrite with a notice of suspicion of justifying, recognizing as lawful and denying Russian armed aggression against Ukraine and the glorification of its participants

Quote from the SSU: "The investigation of all the circumstances of the crime is ongoing. The sanction of the Article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine of which [the clergyman] is being accused of provides for the punishment of five years of imprisonment with confiscation of property."

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