Ukraine's Interior Ministry took symbolic action on Friday by placing the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on its wanted list. Security services accused him of supporting the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Despite the measure being symbolic and Kirill being in Russia without any arrest threat, it represents the latest move in Ukraine's effort to eradicate the influence of priests allegedly maintaining close ties to Russia and undermining Ukrainian society.
A post on the Ukrainian ministry's wanted list featured Kirill's name and an image of him in his clerical robes, describing him as an "individual in hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigation" since November 11. Given the dominant role of Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine, Kyiv authorities have initiated criminal cases against clergy associated with a branch of the Orthodox church once directly connected to the Russian church and Patriarch Kirill.
A bill is currently under consideration in the Ukrainian Parliament to ban this church branch, which has witnessed a decline in parishioners since Russia's military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022. Despite the church's claim of severing ties with Moscow in May 2022, authorities view it as linked to Russian influence.
Last month, Ukraine's SBU security service accused Kirill of "infringing Ukrainian sovereignty" due to his role in the "closest entourage of Russia's military and political leadership." Numerous criminal cases, including charges of treason, have been launched against priests and officials associated with the Moscow-linked branch of the church.
In response, Kirill condemned these actions and called on global clerical leaders to oppose Ukraine's measures against the church. A senior official in the Russian church dismissed the move, describing it as "ridiculous and predictable," accusing Ukrainian authorities of "lawlessness and attempting to intimidate parishioners."
