Agents of Russia’s intelligence agencies could operate in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. In fact, many clergymen with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) were holders of Russian passports.
This was stated by the vicar of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Archimandrite Avraamiy, who spoke with the Schemes project.
The journalists noted that Avraamiy switched from the UOC (MP) to the OCU. He himself said that the monks who live in the Lavra were aware of the Russian citizenship that many clergymen held.
“I think that in any case it was a backup option for them. These people understood that they would not stay in the Lavra, in Ukraine. And that they will have to leave in any case,” Avraamiy said.
According to him, after the start of the full-scale incursion on February 24, 2022, people who “behaved strangely” started to appear on the Lavra premises. They were also spotted at religious services, at various meetings of clergymen, but the leadership of the UOC (MP) prefers to hush the issue down.
Avraamiy noted that Russian agents could have been operating in the Lavra. Moreover, their activities could have started even before the outset of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine.
