SSU considers seizures of UOC churches "artificially inspired"

Vice Chairman of the Security Service Viktor Kononenko

The seizure of churches and the division of Ukrainian citizens into supporters of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kiev Patriarchate are "artificially inspired" by Russian special services. This was stated by Vice Chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine Viktor Kononenko at a briefing, reports Priamoy.

According to him, a new priority direction of the Russian special services is "the inspiration of artificial inter-faith conflicts in Ukraine."

"It is at provoking the aggravation in this direction that efforts (of special services of the Russian Federation - Ed.) will be aimed in the near future," said Kononenko. "For this purpose, Russians plan to use the available arsenal of controlled church and near-church organizations, as well as the theme of patriotic structures."

He also added that the seizures of UOC temples and other "conflict situations" are "artificially inspired". In his opinion, "there is an artificial division" of Ukrainian citizens into supporters of the Kiev and Moscow Patriarchates.

Meanwhile, it is well known from media reports and human rights activists that the priests of the UOC KP, with the support of Ukrainian right-wing radical organizations, have often initiated the seizures of UOC churches. However, the representative of the Security Service did not specify if they related to the special services of the Russian Federation and how exactly church raiders were "inspired".

Representatives of right-wing radical organizations often openly declare the need to seize UOC temples, motivating it with a negative attitude to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Human rights defenders have repeatedly documented manifestations of hate speech towards the UOC from the clergy of the Kiev Patriarchate, the UGCC and activists of right-wing radical organizations.

According to the information of the UOC, since 2014 supporters of the Kiev Patriarchate have seized more than 40 churches. The very division of Orthodoxy in Ukraine occurred in 1992 after the creation by Filaret (Denisenko) of his own structure, with the support of then-President Leonid Kravchuk.

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