The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) accused of leading a Russian "Iskander" missile strike on Odessa in March 2024, Ukrinform reports.
In March 2024, based on coordinates provided by a recruited priest from one of the churches of the local UOC-MP diocese, Russian forces fired two "Iskander-M" ballistic missiles on a recreation area in Odessa.
The first missile hit a residential area and other civilian infrastructure.
The second strike was carried out in the same location after emergency services arrived at the scene.
After the attack, the agent informed the Russian military intelligence agency GRU about the consequences of the strike and then went into hiding to avoid detection.
SBU officers established the priest's involvement in coordinating the attack and detained him at his home.
The investigation found that the cleric initially attracted the attention of Russian intelligence by posting pro-Kremlin comments on Telegram channels.
After being recruited, the priest moved around the city in clerical vestments, marking the geolocations of potential targets on Google. Maps.
He reportedly passed on the collected information via a chatbot administered by associate Serhiy Lebedev, who is hiding in occupied Donetsk and works for Russian military intelligence.
Investigators also found that the agent provided coordinates of air defense positions protecting the skies over the Odessa region during missile attacks.
In addition, the cleric shared information about an electrical substation near Odessa, including details of its protection system, and later informed Russian military intelligence about the consequences of a strike on the facility.
During the searches, law enforcement officers seized a smartphone used to collect intelligence and communicate with the GRU.
SBU investigators served the suspect with a notice of suspicion under Art. 111, Art. 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - treason committed during martial law.
The suspect remains in custody without bail and faces a possible life sentence with confiscation of property.
Earlier, a court sentenced a resident of the Dnipropetrovsk region to 15 years in prison for passing on information about the location of the Ukrainian defense forces and energy infrastructure to Russian special services.