The SSU has collected a substantiated evidence base against another representative of the russian Orthodox Church who is engaged in subversive activities against Ukraine.

The suspect is the archpriest of the russian Orthodox Church Andrey Tkachov - a graduate of the special propaganda faculty of the military institute of the soviet union’s MoD in moscow.

In 2013, Tkachov was appointed head of the missionary department of Kyiv diocese of moscow patriarchate’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a presenter on the Kyiv Rus TV channel.

At that time, he began to actively spread pro-kremlin narratives through the media, ‘questioning’ the existence of Ukrainian statehood.

Subsequently, Tkachov moved to moscow and at the beginning of the full-scale invasion publicly supported the russian occupiers.

To do this, he created his own channels in the Telegram and on YouTube video hosting, to which almost 1.3 million users subscribed.

There, he publishes his ‘sermons’ in which he calls on the invaders to kill Ukrainian civilians.

It has been documented that the moscow cleric suggested that ruscists put religious inscriptions on russian projectiles for striking Ukrainian cities.

In addition, Tkachov is a frequent ‘guest’ on the air of russia’s central channels, where he actively justifies the kremlin’s war crimes.

The examination initiated by the SSU fully confirmed that the suspect had committed criminal actions.

Based on the collected evidence, SSU investigators served him a notice of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU:

• 436 (propaganda of war);
• 436-2.2 (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, glorification of its participants).

The offender is currently in russia. Comprehensive measures are underway to hold him to account.

The SSU Office in Kyiv and Kyiv region carried out the investigation under the supervision of Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.