Rector of church of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate and military serviceman were spying for Russian Federation in Zaporizhzhia - Security Service of Ukraine. PHOTOS
The SSU military counterintelligence, with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, neutralised the Russian military intelligence network (better known as the game) in Zaporizhzhia.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the SSU press centre.
According to the case file, the enemy cell was coordinated by the rector of one of the local churches of the UOC-MP.
What is known about the traitors?
"The cleric was looking for pro-Russian residents during his sermons, in which he justified Russia's armed aggression and the war crimes of the Nazis. Later, he began recruiting potential candidates for the agent apparatus of the aggressor country," the statement said.
The SSU exposed his criminal activities when it detained a Russian adjuster in the city (he has already received a prison sentence). The suspect testified against the cleric, and since then, the special service has begun to document the priest's subversive activities.
It was established that the rector of the church also recruited a 41-year-old mobilised to a local military unit. On the instructions of the Russian secret service, the agent passed on information about the location, number, and weapons of Ukrainian troops in the Zaporizhzhia sector.
"In the agent's 'report', he included information about his battalion and related units, as well as photocopies of documents on the deployment of new Armed Forces formations on the front line," the SSU explained.
According to the investigation, the priest and the soldier coordinated their actions with a resident (senior agent) from the 316th intelligence centre of the Russian GRU. He turned out to be a former law enforcement officer from Zaporizhzhia who fled to the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine and started working for Russia.
During the searches, the SSU found phones and computer equipment with evidence of the crimes. The cleric also had a Russian passport, ammunition for a Kalashnikov rifle and cold steel.
The SSU investigators served both detainees a notice of suspicion under five articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
▪️ Part 2 Article 111 (high treason committed under martial law);
▪️ chs. 1, 2 Art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine);
▪️ chaps. 2, 3, Art. 109 (actions aimed at the violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of state power);
▪️ chaps. 1, 3, Art. 436-2 (justification, recognition of the legitimacy, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants);
▪️ part 1, article 161 (violation of equality of citizens based on their race, nationality, region, and religious beliefs).
The perpetrators are in custody.
The investigation is ongoing to bring to justice all persons involved in the activities of the Russian agent network.
