SBU arrests two Odessa priests for "justifying Russian aggression"

Arrested priests of the Odessa Eparchy. Photo: Telegram channel "Operatyvnyi ZSU"

On August 12, 2025, the SBU arrested two clerics of the Odessa Eparchy of the UOC, reports the press service of the agency.

The SBU does not name them, but the Telegram channel "Operatyvnyi ZSU" claims that it is about 58-year-old Archpriest Ivan Pavliuchenko and 44-year-old Archpriest Oleksandr Bilonohov.

According to the SBU, Pavliuchenko "during conversations with parishioners glorified the occupiers and offended the religious beliefs of believers of other denominations." He is also accused of communicating with former MP Markov and "collaborator Kaurov", who are currently in the Russian Federation.

Bilonohov, according to SBU investigators, "in his sermons justified Russian shelling of Ukraine's civilian infrastructure".

"Security Service-initiated forensic linguistic examinations confirmed the facts of the information-subversive activities of the figures in favor of the aggressor country," the text states.

The priests are charged under the articles:

• Parts 2, 3 of Article 436-2 (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants);
• Part 1 of Article 161 (violation of the equality of citizens depending on their religious beliefs).

They face 8 years in prison with confiscation.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the head of the SBU named the number of UOC clerics to whom the agency handed suspicions.

Read also