A priest with the UOC (in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate) who spied for Russia was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
This is reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.
Thanks to the evidence base collected by the Security Service, the abbot of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP), who was part of the FSB’s intelligence network collecting intelligence on Ukraine’s defense system across Sumy Oblast, was sentenced to a long prison term.
First of all, the enemy was interested in the exact locations of the Ukrainian Army units and personal data of local administration officials in the Shostka district.
SBU counterintelligence detained the Russian agent in March upon his attempt to pass intelligence to the Russian FSB.
Based on the case built by the Ukrainian security service, the court sentenced the priest to 15 years in prison.
As the investigation established, the cleric was remotely recruited by the aggressor after the full-scale invasion.
He came to the attention of the invaders over his long-standing pro-Kremlin views, which he repeatedly made shared, including among parishioners.
In order to gather intelligence, the traitor tried to get information from local residents amid small talk, without them being aware of his malign intent.
He also recorded the locations of Ukrainian defenders as he traveled across the region that is bordering Russia.
The Russian agent forwarded the intelligence to his FSB handler through anonymous messengers, usin text and media files with data on georeferenced objects.
During searches in the priest’s home and temple, mobile phones were seized, which he had been using to get in touch with this handlers.
Based in the evidence collected, the court found the perpetrator guilty under Art. 111 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (treason committed amid martial law).
The Security Service emphasizes that the crimes against the state will inevitably be prosecuted. The investigation was conducted by SBU detectives in Sumy region under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor’s office.
