Ex-head of Kherson Cathedral sentenced for high treason

Archimandrite Oleksiy, former rector of the Kherson Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was tried for high treason.

This was reported by the SBU.

According to the special service, after the occupation of Kherson, the archimandrite collaborated with the invaders and collaborator Vladimir Saldo, inviting him to the church for propaganda speeches. He also openly supported the pseudo-referendum on the accession of Kherson region to the Russian Federation and appealed to Patriarch Kirill to transfer the cathedral to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

As a reward for supporting Russian aggression, the cleric received real estate in the center of Kherson and was invited to the Kremlin to participate in the "ceremony" of annexation of the temporarily occupied territories.

During the liberation of Kherson, the traitor fled to the left bank of the region, and later to Crimea, where he is currently hiding.

The court found him guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• ч. 2 of Art. 111 (high treason under martial law),
• ч. 1 of Article 111-2 (assistance to the aggressor state).

"Comprehensive measures are being taken to bring him to justice for his crimes against our country," the SBU said in a statement.

On August 20, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted in the second reading for draft law No. 8371 on the prohibition of activities of religious organizations, in particular those associated with the Russian Federation, on the territory of Ukraine. The bill was supported by 236 MPs.

In addition, a resident of Kherson was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for voluntarily taking a position in an illegal body created by the occupiers. She worked as an "expert" in the so-called "Expert Forensic Center" controlled by the Russian occupation administration.

Ірина Глухова