Ukraine announced on Saturday that it had opened a criminal case in absentia against Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, for “justifying” Russia’s invasion of its territory, AFP reported.

Russian Patriarch KirillPhoto: Valery Melnikov / Sputnik / Profimedia Images

Patriarch Kirill, an ardent supporter of President Vladimir Putin, called the Russian offensive against Ukraine a fight against “evil forces,” News.ro notes.

Ukrainian authorities said they had “gathered evidence against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Volodymyr Gundyaev (known as Kirill).”

He “is part of the inner circle of Russia’s top military and political leadership and (…) was one of the first to publicly support the war against Ukraine.”

According to the Ukrainian authorities, Kyrylo undermined the territorial integrity of Ukraine by justifying armed aggression.

“Measures will be taken to bring him to justice for crimes committed against our state,” the Kyiv authorities added.

Ukraine, a predominantly Orthodox country, severed ties with Orthodox institutions linked to Russia after the war began.

In October, the Ukrainian parliament voted to ban the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), accusing its members of collaborating with Russia.

Once the most popular church in Ukraine, it has been losing followers over the years as Ukrainian national sentiments have gained strength against former Russian rule.

This process accelerated with the creation in 2018 of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), independent from Moscow.

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