"Priest" who spied for Russian invaders detained in Kyiv

16.03.2022 22:45

Ukrinform

In Kyiv, the Security Service detained a "priest" with the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine who is believed to have been passing to the invaders tips about the Ukrainian defense tactics and military maneuvers.

That’s according to the Spiritual Front of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

“Today in Kyiv, the SBU detained an ROC ‘priest’ Onufriy, who holds a Ukrainian passport and goes by the name of Serhiy Valeryevich Tarasov, born on August 26, 1969. This ROC cleric had been keeping at home weapons, explosives, and symbols of the Russian Empire. Tarasov had passed on to the occupiers intelligence about the movement of the Ukrainian military and the tactics applied by the Armed Forces," the statement said.

In turn, his Russian handlers informed him of the time the invaders would be raiding Kyiv and the number of forces set to be involved in the attack.

For the assistance provided, the cleric received money from his Russian supervisors. The pay was in Russian rubles.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying key infrastructure, massively shelling residential areas of Ukrainian cities and towns using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.