Kherson priest leads church in Crimea and receives stolen icons

Former secretary of the Kherson Diocese of the UOC-MP Maksym Tarasenko supported the occupiers after the start of the full-scale invasion and began to cooperate with the occupiers. He has now settled in Crimea.

According to the IRS-South investigation, after the de-occupation of Kherson, he moved to the peninsula, where he actively joined the activities of the Crimean Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

In Crimea, Tarasenko became the head of the Simferopol Church of All Saints, located at 5 Uchbovyi Lane. He also began working in the press service of the Crimean diocese, focusing on supporting the Russian army and the occupation regime. Among other things, he organized services for the Russian military, received icons stolen by the occupiers from churches in the Kherson region, and participated in propaganda events.

Maksym Tarasenko and Russian Guard cadets. Photo: Russian media. January 2025

The investigation reports that Tarasenko actively promoted narratives about the "persecution of Orthodoxy" in Ukraine, gave lectures on spirituality and patriotism to the Russian military, conducted excursions for security forces, and called on Crimean youth to help the Russian army as volunteers.

His wife, Ksenia Tarasenko, runs the organization "Volunteers of Hospitals", which supports wounded Russian soldiers, providing them with material and moral support.

Born in 1980, Maksym Tarasenko received his theological education at the Chernihiv Theological School and was previously awarded the church orders of Dmitry of Rostov and St. Peter the Great. In Crimea, his activities were recognized by the medal of the Troeruchnitsa-Berdiansk Church.

His cooperation with the occupation authorities also includes close ties with Volodymyr Kashlyuk, who, under the auspices of the humanitarian center of the Crimean Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church, provides Russian military in Kherson region with vehicles.

Meanwhile, the SBU served a notice of suspicion in absentia to Eduard Kovalenko, a pro-Russian provocateur from Henichesk and leader of a political party. He organized a series of arson attacks on Ukrainian military vehicles in Kherson.

Recently, a Kherson court sentenced a man who corresponded with an FSB representative and passed him information about the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason.

The court also sentenced a resident of Kherson who voluntarily agreed to serve in the Russian police during the occupation.

Ірина Глухова