In Dnipropetrovsk region, a UOC priest received a suspended sentence for comments on social networks

A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Dnipropetrovsk Region has been sentenced to three years in prison with a one-year probation period for «public calls for the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia». The priest, who serves in the Holy Trinity Church of the UOC in the village of Balovka, fully admitted his guilt in court, explaining his actions by his emotional state.

According to the publication Kavun.City, the incident occurred in November 2024. The defendant left a comment in one of the pro-Russian Telegram channels, in which he called to «help annex Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson to Russia». In addition, his message contained a wish that «Russian missiles fly to London and Paris.»

During the investigation, officers of the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a search at the priest’s residence, as a result of which three cell phones were seized. A linguistic examination by the SBU confirmed that the commentary contained public calls to change the borders of Ukraine’s territory in violation of the Constitution. The man’s actions were qualified under Part 1 Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine).

The Southern District Court of Kamenskoye city, having considered the case materials, found the clergyman guilty. During the hearing, the accused repented of his crime and referred to the presence of chronic diseases and upbringing of his son as mitigating circumstances. The court sentenced him to three years of imprisonment, but on the basis of Art. 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine released him from serving it with a probationary period of one year. During this time, the convicted person is obliged to report to the probation agency, to report changes in place of residence and not to leave Ukraine without authorization.

According to the court decision, the phone Samsung Galaxy A35 5G, from which the comment was published, was confiscated in favor of the state. The other two phones were returned to the owner. In addition, from the convict recovered more than 27 thousand hryvnias of court costs for the necessary expertise.

Recall, earlier we reported that the Rakhiv district court of Zakarpattia region passed a sentence on the priest of the Khust diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Archimandrite Venedikt (Khromey), who was tried for «propaganda of the communist regime». As stated in the court verdict, Archimandrite Venedikt created an account on Facebook, with the help of which he «disseminated images of communist symbols and totalitarian regime».