ROC propagandists step up their activities in Donbas

In East Ukraine, in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, involved in the propaganda among local residents, have stepped up their activities, said Heorhiy Tuka, Deputy Minister for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, in an interview with Obozrevatel, according to ZN.UA.

Devoid of other options to prevent the creation of the one local Orthodox Church in Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church is resorting to traditional methods of incitement to hostility and hatred.

“In Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, in the parishes in the territories of Ukraine, the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church are already spreading rumors that the churches are being seized in Ukraine, and that the Ministry of Culture, the Cabinet of Ministers have decided to confiscate all the temples and transfer them to the Kyivan Patriarchate.” The tension is being exacerbated,” Tuka said.

He added that the Ukrainian intelligence agencies have been already mobilized to counter Russian propaganda and possible provocations. In particular, communication is held with those priests who are ready to move under the protectorate of Kyiv once the Tomos of autocephaly is granted.

“I do not know about the interaction with the Moscow Patriarchate, but we cooperate with the Kyiv Patriarchate. I know that communication is maintained with some representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, and there are so many who are ready to move under the jurisdiction of Kyiv once the Tomos is granted,” he explained.

According to Heorhiy Tuka, law enforcement officers also work with representatives of ultranationalist organizations, urging them not to fall for provocations and to avoid violent clashes.