Security forces raid Ukrainian Orthodox Church monasteries in 9 regions

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Wednesday said that it raided monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in nine different regions of the country, as a crackdown continues on churches allegedly loyal to Russia.

“Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine conduct counterintelligence (security) measures at UOC (Moscow Patriarchate) facilities in Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Volyn, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Lviv, Zhytomyr, and Kherson regions,” SBU said on Facebook.

The statement read that the raids were “carried out with the National Police & the National Guard … to curb the subversive activities of the Russian special services in our country.”

“With the direct participation of representatives of the church, law enforcement officers conduct an inspection of the territory and premises (including a hotel type) to identify persons who may be involved in illegal activities to the detriment of the state sovereignty of Ukraine and objects prohibited from circulation,” it added.

On Nov. 23, the European Solidarity party in Ukraine, led by former President Petro Poroshenko, announced a draft bill to ban the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country.

This came a day after the SBU raided the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, among other monasteries. Security forces claimed to have uncovered pro-Russian literature, cash, and forged documents from the buildings.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church split from Moscow in May over Russian Patriarch Kirill’s blessing for Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Still, there are suspicions that it is used by the Kremlin to sway public opinion in Ukraine.