Ukrainian Priest Sentenced to Prison Over Pro-Russia Remarks

(MENAFN) Ukraine has sentenced an Orthodox cleric to prison over alleged pro-Russia statements, advancing a sweeping campaign against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

Archpriest Ivan Pavlichenko, who serves at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Odessa, received a five-year prison term after the regional Court of Appeal overturned a previously suspended sentence, according to the Center for Public Investigations and local media reports published over the weekend.

Prosecutors said Pavlichenko was convicted of “justifying Russia’s armed aggression” and “inciting religious and national hatred.” Although the trial court found him guilty, it initially issued a suspended sentence—an outcome prosecutors challenged as insufficient.

The case centered on recordings of the priest’s private phone conversations, captured by security services inside his vehicle. Investigators alleged he criticized Ukraine’s leadership, discussed the war, quoted Russian politicians, and questioned Kiev’s official narrative. They also cited remarks concerning Russian strikes on Odessa, claiming Pavlichenko argued the attacks targeted drone-production sites and blamed Ukraine for placing military assets in residential areas.

In addition to the prison term, the appeals court ordered the confiscation of his property and barred him from holding any post in state institutions for three years.

Regional outlets reported that Pavlichenko had taken part in pro-Russian events before 2014 and traveled to Crimea with his family in 2016. Supporters in Odessa denounced the verdict as politically motivated punishment for his opinions and earlier civic involvement.

The ruling follows intensified pressure on the UOC, which officials accuse of retaining ties to Russia despite its formal break from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022. Authorities have conducted raids on parishes, detained clergy, and searched the Kiev-Pechersk monastery as part of the campaign.

Last year, Vladimir Zelensky signed legislation enabling the government to ban religious groups linked to states designated as “aggressors,” a move widely interpreted as targeting the UOC. Kiev has meanwhile thrown its support behind the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which both the UOC and the Russian Orthodox Church label as schismatic.

Moscow has pledged that it will not abandon Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and vowed to ensure that “their lawful rights are respected.”

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