Ukrainian Priest Asked Parishioners To Support Russia, Wanted Churchgoers To Join Invaders

A Ukrainian priest in the country's Kharkiv region is under investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for supporting Russia, the agency said in a statement.

The SBU said that the rector of one of the churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), or UOC-MP, in the Kupiansk district rallied his churchgoers to support Russia's military offensive.

"During the temporary occupation of Kupiansk district, the cleric called the local religious community to support the invaders and justified Russia's crimes in the war against Ukraine," the SBU said in the statement.

The priest, whose name was not disclosed, allegedly urged parishioners to join Russian troops and coordinated with a local "gauleiter" named Vitaliy Hanchev to draft Ukrainians, according to the SBU.

A gauleiter is a term used for a "Russian-appointed puppet leader or governor," according to the Ukrainian outlet Pravda. It was also a term that referred to district officials in Nazi Germany.

The priest recruited an unidentified woman parishioner to help him spread pro-Russian propaganda in the community and justify the war against Ukraine, the SBU said.

The agency said that both individuals fled Ukraine and went to Russia after their community was liberated. The SBU put the clergyman and his accomplice on their wanted list.

Both have been charged by the SBU under Article 436-2.1 of the Constitution of Ukraine (justifying, recognizing as legitimate and denying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine).

The SBU said the investigation into the case is ongoing.

The report came as Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, claimed that Russia's very existence was under threat, Interfax reported.

"We must not ignore these petitions, especially when people face dangers — dangers that challenge the very existence of our country," Kirill said, according to the Russian news agency.

Kirill also claimed that forces "outside of Russia" desire to undermine "Holy Rus"—referring to Ukraine, Russia and Belarus—by inciting an internal conflict.

The patriarch said that prayer for the leadership and the Russian Armed Forces should not be "mechanical."

According to Russian military doctrine, Russia may use nuclear weapons when the existence of the state itself is threatened, Pravda reported. Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the country may use nuclear weapons in that case.

Kirill has been condemned by Orthodox priests for allegedly giving his "blessing" to the Russian offensive.

About 400 Ukrainian priests sued the patriarch and appealed to the Council of the Primates of the Ancient Eastern Churches, the highest "court" of the Orthodox church worldwide, against Kirill for preaching the Russian doctrine.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "special military operation" against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 74,170 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict, according to the latest tally of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.