UOC priests used in exchange for Ukrainian intelligence agents – media

An SBU officer arrives at a church for a search. Photo: SBU

Ukraine is using arrested priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) for exchanges involving prisoners of war and intelligence operatives, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing sources in law enforcement.

“There is no fixed practice that UOC priests can be exchanged for a particular category of prisoners or civilian hostages. The cases are different, and Russia’s level of interest in them varies,” explained a source from the Coordination Headquarters on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

According to another security source, “usually for one UOC priest, we get back more than a dozen prisoners.”

“Sometimes, thanks to such exchanges, it is possible to return not only military and civilian hostages, but also top agents of the Ukrainian special services,” added another source on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, law enforcement officials admit that Russia does not show much interest in priests. “Representatives of the UOC far more often express the desire to be transferred to Russia than the aggressor state expresses the desire to take them back,” the source noted.

Nevertheless, the SBU continues to actively arrest clergymen.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the SBU had arrested a UOC priest in the Sumy region.

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