Patriach Kirill with Putin, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, courtesy of Wikimedia

The Ukrainian World Congress reports:

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is creating its own private military companies on the territory of Russia. The groups are recruiting and preparing believers for the war against Ukraine. The process is taking place at the behest of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Security Service reported.

“It has been documented that one such private military company called St. Andrew’s Cross operates based on the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Within the walls of the religious institution, its representatives are recruiting parishioners for further inclusion in the composition of the occupying groups of the Russian Federation, which are involved in the front line,” the SSU said.

…

The Russians train mercenaries exclusively within the cathedral’s walls and on special training grounds to hide combat training. Representatives of Russian financial and industrial groups finance the creation of private military companies. The money goes to the accounts of the Russian Orthodox Church in the form of charitable contributions and donations for the “construction” of churches.

Currently, the Security Service of Ukraine is working to establish all the circumstances of the exposed crimes and bring the culprits to justice.

Glory to Ukraine!