Ukraine's Security Service detains pro-Russian agitators calling for torture of Ukrainian prisoners

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained four pro-Russian propagandists accused of backing Russia's armed aggression and publicly calling for the abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war and strikes on civilian cities.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine

Details: In Kyiv Oblast, one of those detained is a senior deacon of a church within the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). He used Telegram chats to encourage violence against Ukrainian servicemen held in Russian captivity.

Quote: "The cleric was documented calling on the enemy to imprison our soldiers in Russian prisons, keep them for long periods without food or water and 'put them through hell'."

Details: In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, investigators uncovered an archimandrite, a former abbot of a church in the Siverskodonetsk diocese of the UOC-MP. After parts of Luhansk Oblast were occupied in 2014, he travelled to Russia for meetings with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. After returning to Ukraine, he continued conducting services in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and encouraged parishioners to support the Kremlin.

He has also justified Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities in private messages.

In Cherkasy Oblast, a suspect was served notice of suspicion after praising Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in online messaging apps and calling for a missile strike on Kyiv using the Oreshnik ballistic missile system.

In Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, authorities detained a woman from the Kosiv district who posted Soviet symbols on Facebook, called for the restoration of the USSR and urged Ukrainians to ignore current legislation.

Investigators have charged all suspects under Criminal Code provisions related to the distribution of communist symbols and justification of Russia's armed aggression. They face up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

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