SBU announces termination of Ukrainian citizenship for Metropolitan Onufriy

According to the materials of the SBU, the Ukrainian citizenship of Orest Berezovsky (the so-called Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has been terminated, the SBU said on Telegram on Wednesday.

"According to materials of the SBU [State Security Service], the Ukrainian citizenship of Orest Berezovsky, who is better known as the figure of the UOC (MP) Onufry, has been terminated. The corresponding Decree was signed by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky," the message says.

According to the Ukrainian special services, the SBU established that Berezovsky (Onufriy) voluntarily obtained Russian citizenship in 2002.

"He did not inform the authorized authorities of Ukraine about this. At the same time, after that he continued to use the status of a citizen of our state," the report states.

According to the information available to the Security Service of Ukraine, Berezovsky (Onufriy) maintains ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and deliberately opposed the acquisition of canonical independence of the Ukrainian Church from the Moscow Patriarchate, whose representatives openly support Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"Despite the full-scale invasion, Berezovsky (Onufriy) actually continues to support the policy of the Russian Orthodox Church and its leadership, in particular Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev)," the SBU emphasizes.

The special service reminds that it was Gundyaev who "blessed the armed aggression of Russian troops and is pursuing a propaganda policy of justifying and inciting the genocide of the Ukrainian people."