UOC cleric in Kherson Region on trial for justifying Russian aggression

Photo: Priest of the Kherson Eparchy. Source: National Police in Kherson Region

The Oleshky District Prosecutor's Office in Kherson Region has submitted an indictment against Archpriest Anatolii Kornev of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to court. The clergyman is accused of publicly calling for changes to Ukraine’s territorial borders and denying the occupation of parts of the country (Part 1, Article 110, and Part 1, Article 436-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as reported by the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

"According to the investigation, in September 2022, while in the occupied village of Bilozirka, the priest publicly supported the aggressor country. He called for changes to Ukraine's borders, expressed support for the occupation of the region and its annexation to Russia, and promoted the ideas of the 'Russian World,'" the prosecutor's statement said.

As previously reported by UOJ, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office approved and sent to court an indictment against a 50-year-old priest accused of transmitting state secret information to a foreign country (Part 1, Article 114 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

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