Vadim Novinsky accused radicals of murdering a monk from the Svyatogorsk Lavra

Vadym Novinsky, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, businessman, and protodeacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, issued a statement announcing that Ukraine’s top leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are aware of the circumstances and those responsible for the murder of a monk at the Svyatogorsk Lavra, which occurred several months ago but has never been solved. The clergyman directly blamed representatives of far-right military units stationed in Svyatogorsk for the tragedy. He spoke about this in an interview with Die Weltwoche.

According to Vadim Novinsky, the attack on the monastery’s community was carried out by individuals whom he described as “murderers, not soldiers,” emphasizing the defenselessness of the slain monk. The protodeacon expressed outrage at the lack of response from government authorities and the Ukrainian media, noting that the country’s president has still not offered condolences regarding the incident.

In his statement, Novinsky pointed to “double standards” in the authorities’ policies. In particular, he contrasted the Ukrainian leadership’s silence regarding the murder at the Lavra with Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s prompt response to an attack on a priest that occurred on Polish territory. Novinsky questioned the status of UOC believers in the country, noting that such treatment raises serious questions about justice and respect for citizens’ rights.

As a reminder, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, on behalf of the entire Serbian Orthodox Church, sent a message of condolence to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The occasion for this mournful message was the murder of Monk Varsonofius and the serious wounding of two other monks at the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra.