FSB in SBU ranks: Were cases against UOC fabricated by Kremlin agents?
On "FSB moles" in the SBU system and their role in the persecution of the UOC.
On 13 February 2025, the head of the SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, personally arrested the head of the Anti-Terrorist Centre of the SBU, who, as it turned out, had been working for the FSB for years. The person in question is Colonel Mykola Makinovych, who was in charge of the so-called "T" Department.
This department is responsible for the "protection of the state order". Moreover, according to media reports, its officers had been directly engaged in "detecting crimes" allegedly committed by representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) since the Poroshenko presidency. Now when it has become known that its head turned out to be a tool of Russian intelligence services, a logical question arises: who was actually behind the SBU’s "work" against the UOC? After all, if we take into account that pressure on the UOC provokes internal divisions in Ukraine and provides Russia with a perfect pretext for escalating the conflict, the answer may be very unpleasant for Ukrainian "patriots".
How the "T" Department fabricated cases against the UOC
According to SBU investigative materials, the website of the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) operated in Russia’s interests. Investigators accused its contributors of spreading pro-Kremlin narratives, justifying Russian aggression and inciting interreligious hatred. However, even a superficial analysis shows that these accusations are pure fabrication.
For example, Father Serhiy Chertylyn, arrested in 2024 and allegedly linked to the Orthodox journalists’ case, had publicly condemned the Russian invasion and supported the Ukrainian army. Yet, in the eyes of SBU specialists from the "T" Department, he suddenly became a "coordinator of an FSB network". Naturally, no evidence was presented – neither proving that such a network existed nor that it was connected to the FSB through the UOC priest. Why bother, when the department’s objectives were entirely different?
It also remains unclear how UOJ journalists were supposedly "justifying" Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. No one has yet pointed to any specific articles or publications proving this. Meanwhile, anyone can freely visit the UOJ website and see that its journalists have repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion, criticised the words and the position of Patriarch Kirill and other ROC bishops for supporting the war. This clearly contradicts the thesis of "pro-Kremlin activity". So, what exactly is the UOJ’s "guilt"?
The fact is that the "T" Department, formally established to combat terrorism, has systematically "worked" against the UOC clergy and believers since 2018. Initially, this was done on Poroshenko’s instructions. However, the department’s focus on the UOC intensified significantly after the leadership of the SBU changed in 2023, with the appointment of Maliuk. Various sources previously claimed that the former SBU head, Ivan Bakanov, a UOC parishioner himself, blocked repressive measures and was therefore removed as an "inconvenient" figure for such a task.
After Maliuk took over the SBU, the campaign against the UOC became systematic and aggressive. During this period, numerous criminal cases were initiated against clergy members, and searches were conducted in monasteries and eparchies. However, not a single high-profile case has been brought to a logical conclusion with convincing evidence of the clergy’s guilt.
It is notable that the "T" Department consistently used the same methods.
Firstly, priests were accused of keeping prohibited literature or "pro-Russian" materials allegedly proving collaboration. However, in many cases, lawyers proved that such materials had been planted during searches as in the case of Metropolitan Jonathan (Yeletskykh). In other cases, the clergy were accused of possessing books (in their private libraries!) published before 2014, which were later found to contain nothing illegal.
Secondly, testimonies from various "activists" or representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) were used against the UOC, despite these individuals never having direct evidence for their accusations.
Thirdly, in many cases, "expert" conclusions were used as "proof", even though the experts in question were later exposed in corruption scandals. The entire case against the UOJ journalists, for instance, relied on such "expertise", where news articles describing real events were labelled as "information sabotage" and "incitement of religious hatred".
Now it turns out that all of this was conducted under the watchful eye of Russian intelligence services. So, in reality, the UOJ’s "guilt" lies precisely in the fact that the resource pointed out that persecution against the Church is favourable to Russia, including its security services. Perhaps, it is for these exposures that the employees of the ‘T’ Department demand the strictest punishment for Orthodox journalists?
The Russian trace in repressions against the UOC
The arrest of Mykola Makinovych has revealed that the structure responsible for targeting the UOC may, in fact, have been controlled from Russia. In other words, Russian operatives deliberately used the persecution of the Church as a tool to destabilise Ukraine.
It is particularly striking that, according to the SBU, the campaign against the UOC was carried out in the name of "national security". However, it is now clear that this policy actually played into the Kremlin’s hands. The mass repressions against the Church deepened societal divisions, provoked protests and anti-government sentiment among believers, and created a favourable narrative for those seeking to portray Ukraine’s authorities as anti-religious and anti-democratic.
It is also telling that many of the most active persecutors of the UOC, who organised or supported anti-Church campaigns, have now become subjects of various criminal investigations.
It is already quite obvious that the initiators of these repressions fall into only three categories:
- Raiders, directly or indirectly linked to the OCU, who profit from the seizure of church property and the takeover of temples.
- Corrupt officials who exploit the "fight against the UOC" for political gain and financial schemes.
- FSB agents who deliberately act in Russia’s interests, creating the necessary narrative to justify aggression.
For years, Ukrainians have been told that the UOC was a "threat to national security". However, now, after the exposure of a top FSB agent in the very headquarters of the SBU's Anti-Terrorist Centre, it may turn out that this entire campaign was orchestrated from the start by Ukraine’s enemies. The Church was merely used as a target, while the real goal was the destruction of the country itself. Thus, anyone who supports the persecution of the UOC is participating in a campaign aimed at the destruction of Ukraine.
Conclusions
The arrest of Mykola Makinovych shatters the myth that the SBU’s actions against UOC clergy and believers were part of a "fight for statehood". Now, the so-called "patriots" and all those shouting "Down with the Moscow priest!" must realise that the attack on the UOC has nothing to do with defending the country’s interests.
It is entirely possible that this is the execution of a foreign agenda to destroy Ukraine. True protection of Ukraine begins with ending the persecution of the Church and returning to democratic values. And, of course, with holding accountable those responsible for these repressions.
