SBU confirms use of UOC hierarchs as "prisoner exchange fund"

An Orthodox cross. Photo: "Glavkom"

In January 2026, the Security Service of Ukraine officially announced that the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were used as an "exchange fund" for the return of Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity. This is reported by the publication "Glavkom".

The SBU clarified that in the period from 2022 to 2025, with the assistance of the agency, 6,266 Ukrainian citizens were returned from captivity. Part of the releases, according to the intelligence service, took place precisely within the framework of exchanges that involved representatives of the UOC, characterized as "odious churchmen".

The agency emphasized that such exchanges were carried out "with voluntary consent" of the relevant persons and within the framework of current legislation. This refers, in particular, to the application of Article 84-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for release from serving a sentence for the transfer of a convicted person within the framework of an exchange, as well as Article 201-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the cancellation of a preventive measure.

The SBU refused to disclose details of the organization and conduct of exchanges, citing the sensitivity of the topic and the need to maintain the effectiveness of such processes. The "Glavkom" inquiry also raised the question of possible demands from the Russian side for the exchange of specific UOC clerics under investigation in Ukraine, but the SBU did not provide specific comments on these figures.

The Security Service highlighted that since 2014, with its participation, the Joint Center for Coordination of Search and Release of Prisoners of War and Persons Illegally Deprived of Liberty has been functioning. The Center cooperates with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, and other structures of the security and defense sector.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Kherson, Metropolitan Ioann conducted the funeral service for a UOC priest killed by a drone strike.

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