News Feed

Law enforcement raids Moscow Patriarchate church in western Ukraine

1 min read

The local branch of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Nov. 27 that it conducted a search of a Moscow-linked cathedral in Ivano-Frankivsk to counter the possible “subversive activities of the Russian special services in Ukraine.”

In comments to public broadcaster Suspilne, the SBU confirmed that the search was conducted inside the Cathedral of the Nativity, which belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church- Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), a branch of Orthodoxy in Ukraine still linked to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The "counterintelligence" operation in Ivano-Frankivsk comes a few days after the SBU conducted a nationwide raid on the grounds of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery and other locations of the UOC-MP in Ukraine, including Korets Monastery in Rivne Oblast.

The UOC-MP announced the cutting of ties with Moscow in May in response to Russia's full-scale invasion, but the remains little evidence that this move had any practical implications. The church came under renewed scrutiny from Ukrainian society after a video went viral of churchgoers praying for Russia in the Lavra in Kyiv.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed

"Our country reminds the world before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics that sport is not outside of politics. After all, the sanctioned individuals openly support aggression, war crimes, and occupation, thus destroying the principles and values ​​of the Olympic movement."

 (Updated:  )

The delegation consists of the recently appointed President’s Office head Kyrylo Budanov, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, and the parliamentary leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, David Arakhamia.

Show More