Ukrainian security services (SBU) have searched several monasteries in different cities, including Kiev, to counter alleged «subversive activities» serving Russian interests.
The searches have targeted facilities linked to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, including the Kiev Caves Monastery, declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The authorities have also extended their operations to the Rivne region in western Ukraine, with the aim of locating possible weapons stockpiles or spy caches.
The Orthodox Church has tried in recent months to distance itself from possible sympathies towards Moscow, thus dissociating itself from the military offensive launched in February, but the SBU launched an investigation after a service sang a song advocating the awakening of «Mother Russia».
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has accused Kiev of carrying out religious persecution. In his opinion, the search of monasteries is «another link in the chain of military actions against Russian Orthodoxy,» according to official agencies.
