The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has carried out on Thursday new searches in facilities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Khmelnitsky region (west), in line with the actions that Kiev has been carrying out against the institution for its alleged support to Russia in the war.
SBU agents have broken into several sites of the Orthodox Church in that region, such as the Cathedral of St. Michael, the Church of the Holy Martyrs and the Christmas-Theotokos Monastery, in the city of Shepetivka; the Convent of St. Anna Just, in Slavuta; or the Church of the Holy Resurrection, in the Vinkivtsi region.
«Taking into account Russia’s armed aggression, one of the tasks of these measures is to prevent the use of religious communities as centers of so-called ‘Russian peace’ and to protect the population from provocations and terrorist acts,» the Security Service of Ukraine has noted in Khmelnitsky.
In this regard, the Ukrainian authorities have pointed out that the aim of these searches is to find «prohibited material», according to the current war legislation, as well as to carry out checks on persons who may be involved in illegal activities to the detriment of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
On the occasion of special laws enacted by President Volodimir Zelensky during wartime, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has become one of the targets due to its centuries-long historical relationship with Russia. Arrests and the closure of places of worship have led many of the Orthodox leaders to accuse it of religious persecution.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
