Russian Church implies “intelligence agencies, not faith” – disinfo watchdog

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, spoke of this on the air of the national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We have just completed an in-depth inquiry into the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church directly in the propaganda of violence and mobilization to the Russian army. It will soon be published but it has already been sent to the relevant agencies under a no-disclosure clause. I can reveal some details that their church has been one of the main mobilizers for war, starting from the 1990s... And, accordingly, the propaganda spread by the Russian Orthodox Church is propaganda for the average people, in simple words. The image is conventionally constructed at the level of ‘Biden is Satan’... They use simple constructs to mobilize people for a ‘holy’ war," Kovalenko said.

He emphasized that "the Russian Orthodox Church is not about faith, it is about intelligence agencies."

"It has been fully controlled by the KGB in the Soviet times, and now it is controlled by Russia’s FSB, Federal Security Service," Kovalenko said.

According to the official, some priests of the Russian Orthodox Church "are FSB operatives working undercover, some are fully supervised by the FSB, while not being active-duty operatives, but depending on their handlers."

"Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church is a completely spy-ridden organization. And it contributes to the funding of Russian security forces, contributes to their army’s mobilization needs, provides propaganda that is directly beneficial to Putin, who remains Russia’s leader, albeit illegitimate," added the head of the disinformation watchdog.

Kovalenko noted that the said report had been translated into English and is set to also be delivered in German.

"Everything will be forwarded to our direct partners because the main thing is the history of the church. Their (Russia’s - ed.) manipulations now run along the lines of the UOC-MP (Moscow-affiliated church in Ukraine – ed.), the latest decision, trying to manipulate in the eyes of the West that Ukraine allegedly persecutes faith. This is a total lie, and we are trying to do everything possible so that information-wise, Russia fails on this front in the West, so that they never succeed in channeling their false theory. We will show, on the contrary, that the Russian Orthodox Church is about intelligence agencies, it’s not about faith, it’s not about a church. And, trust me, the arguments are serious enough, and the facts are sufficient," Kovalenko said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on August 20, Ukraine’s Parliament adopted a bill effectively prohibiting the activities of religious organizations affiliated with Russia’s church.