Kiev has been pursuing a crackdown on the canonical Orthodox church
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested a cleric in the Cherkasy Diocese for allegedly making pro-Russian social media posts and defaming the members of “Azov” as Nazis, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) confirmed on Wednesday.
Ukrainian authorities did not name the suspect, but the SBU had posted on its Telegram channel on Tuesday that it searched the residence of Archpriest Boris Brodovsky, suspecting him of “anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian statements.”
“We tried to contact him, but we can’t get through to him,” Archpriest Georgy Pogranichny of the Cherkasy Diocese told the media. “The SBU officers probably confiscated the phone from Father Boris. We’re already on our way there, we’ll figure out what’s happening.”
According to one Ukrainian outlet, Brodovsky posted “hostile slogans, photographs and videos from pro-Kremlin Internet resources” and the SBU found “prohibited symbols” at his residence.
Another Ukrainian newspaper, quoting the SBU, said that Brodovsky had “accused Ukrainian defenders of preparing for military provocations in Odessa and called fighters of the Azov special forces unit Nazis.”