The SBU and the OGP have notified Putin’s “spiritual priest” of suspicion in absentia

The Security Service has collected an evidentiary base against Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Georgy Shevkunov (known as Tikhon), who supports the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine and justifies the war crimes of the rashists.

According to the investigation, the subject is Putin’s chief spiritual mentor and one of the leading ideologues of the Kremlin regime.

As the investigation found, Tikhon was among the first to support the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into our state and called for assistance to the armed formations of the aggressor country.

It has been established that already in 2023 he was appointed head of the so‑called Crimean Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of the Ukrainian peninsula.

In that position the cleric used the diocese’s resources to comprehensively spread rashism in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine’s territory.

In addition, Tikhon regularly takes part in public appearances where he justifies the shelling of Ukrainian cities and advocates for the further occupation of the entire territory of our state.

A professional examination initiated by the Security Service confirmed the facts of the subject’s information‑sabotage activities in the interests of the aggressor country.

Based on the collected evidence, SBU investigators have, in absentia, notified Metropolitan Tikhon of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

part 2 of art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine);

part 3 of art. 436-2 (justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine, glorification of its participants).

Comprehensive measures are ongoing to bring him to criminal responsibility for crimes against our state.

The investigation was conducted under the procedural guidance of the Office of the General Prosecutor.

Security Service of Ukraine