The SSU has carried out counterintelligence measures on the territory of Chernivtsi-Bukovyna diocese of moscow patriarchate’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC-MP).

As a result of investigative actions, the SSU found documents confirming russian citizenship of the leadership of diocesan entities.

Correspondence of diocesan heads with their moscow supervisors was also exposed. In it, they receive ‘guidelines’ on the ‘peculiarities’ of church liturgies after a full-scale invasion.

Russian Orthodox Church set the task to engage in disinformation on the socio-political situation in Ukraine and the state of affairs at the front. For example, they demanded from UOC-MP priests to deny russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine and talk about ‘oppression of moscow church’, etc.

The SSU also found warehouses with wholesale batches of pro-kremlin literature praising the aggressor state and calling to support the occupiers.

In addition, during the inspection of computers of the diocesan leadership, SSU officers found photocopies of IDs of ruscists who participated in hostilities against Ukrainian troops. Among these documents is a certificate of a ‘hero of russia’ for the ‘capture of Crimea’ in 2014, signed by the russian minister of defence.

Criminal proceedings were initiated under Article 111.2 of the CCU (treason). The investigation is ongoing.

The SSU Office in Chernivtsi region carried out the measures under the procedural supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office.