The SSU has collected evidence against collaborator Nazar Shkil, a subdeacon of the so-called ‘Kherson diocese of the russian orthodox church’ in the temporarily occupied part of the region.

During Kherson’s occupation, he was one of the first to support the invaders and cooperate with them as a cleric of the local community of moscow patriarchate’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Subsequently, gauleiter Saldo approved his ‘candidacy’ for the head of a local occupation organization, which operated as a ‘public youth association’.

In this ‘position’, the priest gathered ‘like-minded people’ to paint a monument at the entrance to occupied Kherson in the colours of the russian flag.

The collaborator ‘reported’ this during live broadcasts on russian central TV channels.

In addition, he urged believers to support the sham referendum on the region’s ‘accession’ to russia.

During the liberation of Kherson region, the perpetrator, together with his father, a rector of a local UOC-MP church, fled to Stavropol, russia.

Based on the collected evidence, SSU investigators served the subdeacon a notice of suspicion in absentia under three Articles of the CCU:

• 111-1.6 (collaboration);
• 436-2.1 (denial of russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine);
• 110.1 (encroachment on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability).

Efforts are underway to bring the collaborator to justice for crimes against Ukrainians.

Investigators will qualify the actions of his father, who is also involved in information and subversive activities against Ukraine.

The investigation was carried out by the SSU Offices in Zhytomyr and Dnipropetrovsk regions under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor’s Office.