Ukraine raids holy site and suspects Moscow-linked Orthodox church

Kyiv, Ukraine – Ukrainian security services raided one of the holiest sites for Orthodox Christians on Tuesday, saying they were searching a 1,000-year-old monastery in the heart of Kyiv for Russian saboteurs among the clerics and weapons among the relics , although pilgrims prayed in the caves below.

The search for Russian spies in the sprawling Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, or Monastery of the Caves, was a vivid illustration of the deep distrust in Ukraine of a branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church that until this year followed the leaders to Moscow, and has been suspected by many Ukrainians to be a fifth column aligned with the Kremlin.

Millions of Ukrainians belong to another branch Independent from Moscow.

Until last month, according to the authorities, 33 priests they had been arrested for aiding Russia since it invaded the country in February, most on charges of intelligence gathering and feeding Moscow’s forces.

It was unclear whether any arrests were made or illegal activity uncovered on Tuesday, but security services have warned that churches are a perfect hiding place for those trying to tear Ukraine apart from the inside.

The Kremlin condemned the raid, calling it proof that Kiev is “at war with the Russian Orthodox Church”.

Vladimir Legoyda, spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, called the move “an act of intimidation” against the only remaining institution “where people, both in Russia and in Ukraine, sincerely pray for peace”.

The raid came as the Russian army pounded towns and villages in southern and eastern Ukraine with heavy artillery fire as it tried to regroup after recent losses of territory and troops.

As Kremlin forces suffer setbacks on the battlefield and prepare for a possible slowdown in fighting this winter, they appear to have decided on a strategy to make Ukraine