Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has been put on a criminal wanted list by Ukraineβs Interior Ministry. The document identified the Patriarch by his secular name and described him as βan individual hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigationβ and deemed him responsible for violating Ukraineβs territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said that a criminal case had been opened following the announcement and that measures will be taken to identify the Ukrainian special service officials who are seeking to prosecute the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly called on his parishioners to support the participants of Russiaβs military operation against Ukraine, who wereΒ βsacrificing their lives to protect our Orthodox people in the Donbass.β
