SBU arrests UOC priest in Sumy region
SBU detains UOC priest. Photo: SBU press service
On September 12, 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained the rector of one of the churches of the Sumy eparchy of the UOC, the SBU press service reported. Officials claimed that the priest was acting as an artillery spotter for Russian military intelligence.
According to the SBU, the clergyman allegedly “tracked the locations of defense units and fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and passed them on to the Rashists.”
The SBU asserted that “to collect intelligence, the cleric covertly extracted information from parishioners and then personally went to the sites to verify the presence of military facilities.”
The priest now faces up to 8 years in prison.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the SBU had opened 10 new cases against UOC clergy within a month.
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