Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have notified a metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church, who justified aggression against Ukraine, of suspicion. This refers to Metropolitan Kirill (Leonid Pokrovsky) of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, UNN reports with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Details
The suspect heads the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of the Russian Federation. As noted by the Office of the Prosecutor General, this structure provides ideological support for the actions of the Russian military-political leadership and is effectively a link between the state, the church, and the army in Russia.
In October 2022, he recorded a video address in which he openly approved of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.
In 2023, during an interview with Russian propagandists, he repeated Kremlin narratives about a "just war" against Ukraine.
Recall
The State Service of Ukraine for Ethno-politics and Freedom of Conscience adopted a decision by which the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) was recognized as affiliated with a foreign religious organization - the Russian Orthodox Church, which is banned on the territory of Ukraine.