Priest from Odesa calls for nuclear strikes and justifies war

In Odesa, a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate was sentenced to real imprisonment for pro-Russian statements and justification of Russian aggression. Earlier, he was released from prison and given a suspended sentence.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the verdict of the Odesa Court of Appeal.

The court reviewed the case of the priest of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene of the UOC-MP, who was accused of justifying Russian aggression and inciting national hatred. According to the case file, he had been promoting Kremlin narratives in private conversations for a long time, commenting on the war in Ukraine from the perspective of the aggressor state and shifting responsibility for Russian strikes onto Ukrainians.

The materials contain dozens of conversations the priest had in his car. He openly discussed the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia, repeated the narratives of Russian politicians, quoting Zhirinovsky about"the minimum task is to reach the borders of the USSR, the maximum task is to reach the borders of the Empire," including Poland and Finland.

In these conversations, he justified Russia's strikes against NATO countries, including nuclear ones:"They can strike with nuclear weapons, but between England and France, it's like treading water..."

The priest also argued that Russia is "inevitably close by" and it is natural, discussing the distances to Mykolaiv and Kherson, emphasizing the proximity of Russian territory. Commenting on the shelling of Odesa, he claimed that the attacks were allegedly on drone production facilities, and shifted the responsibility to Ukrainians, saying that"you are to blame for placing your equipment in residential buildings."

Separately, the priest expressed pro-Russian opinions about the influence of NATO.

The first instance found him guilty, but imposed a suspended sentence. The prosecutor appealed this decision, and the court of appeal agreed with the prosecution's arguments. The sentence of the Peresypsky District Court was overturned, and the new decision sentenced the priest to five years in prison, confiscation of property, and a three-year ban on holding positions in government or local government. He was also ordered to pay UAH 8,914 in court costs.

The court emphasized that justification of the aggressor state's aggression and propaganda of ideas that degrade national honor and dignity are punishable regardless of the person's status or profession.

Also in September, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal rejected the UOC-MP's request for interim measures in the case of the termination of the church's activities in Ukraine.

Анна Бальчінос