Employee of two Synodal Departments of UOC suspected of financing terrorism

The Security Service of Ukraine established the involvement of Oleksiy Selivanov, former Assistant to Defense Minister Pavel Lebedev in financing terrorism in eastern Ukraine. Selivanov was known in church circles as chieftain of "Faithful Cossacks" and worked in two Synodal Departments of the UOC-MP: the Youth Department and Pastoral Care of the Cossacks Department, Religion in Ukraine reports.

“The financing was carried out through Russian banks and by means of the former high officials of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, and one of the former minister’s assistants ... His name is Oleksiy Selivanov. The money stolen in the Ministry of Defense in tenders were also used to finance terrorism and separatism”, said chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaychenko at a press conference, according to RBC news agency.

The SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) head said that financing was also carried out through the International Press Institute, headed by Russian TV presenter Dmitry Kiselev.

The SBU initiated investigation against Oleksiy Selivanov on charges of financing terrorism in Ukraine.

Bloggers have already noticed that with the start of investigation the Synodal Youth Department of the UOC deleted the mention of Oleksiy Selivanov as deputy head of the department.

On June 6, Oleksiy Selivanov disavowed the charges brought against him and said that the persons who fired and bombed the cities of Donbass with government weapons more deserved the definition of terrorists than the militants did.

 However, as head of the Moscow ‘Association of Orthodox Experts’ Kirill Frolov wrote on July 10, Selivanov "enrolled to the militia to defend the Holy Orthodox faith together with all the faithful Cossacks”. According to Kirill Frolov, Oleksiy Selivanov is fighting “in the ranks of the militia of the “People's Republic of Luhansk”.

According to Religion in Ukraine, Oleksiy Selivanov together with the leaders of ‘political orthodoxy” regularly takes part in anti-European religious processions. Last year, Oleksiy Selivanov, was resonantly fired from the Ministry of Education and headed the ‘ideological’ Department of the Ministry of Defense. On February 13 this year, pro-Russian Cossacks led by Selivanov burned a portrait of the official representative of the U.S. State Department.

Quite recently, this year in May, Oleksiy Selivanov tried to win elections to the Cabinet: he was the third number on the list of the Slavic Party of Ukraine.  The party was led by Alexander Luzan, who stands for the Confederation of Ukraine. The Slavic Party once again gained very poor support of the Kyivans: less than two thousand votes, which is less than 1% of the voters.