<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Ukraine's security service has raided a historic monastery in Kyiv in an operation it says was aimed at stopping Russian agents using the site for sabotage, intelligence or weapons.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Christian monastery dates back to the 11th Century and is a seat of Ukraine's Orthodox Church (UOC).</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Church split from the Moscow patriarchate after Russia's invasion.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The schism was prompted by Russian Patriarch Kirill's support of the war.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Despite this, some of the UOC's top clergy have been accused of still covertly supporting Moscow, using their position to influence churchgoers.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Kremlin said the raid was another attack by Kyiv on Russian Orthodoxy.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The SBU security service in Kyiv announced on Tuesday it was conducting "counter-intelligence measures" to target the "subversive activities" of Russian special services. It said there was an increased risk of attack, sabotage and hostage-taking in places that attracted large groups of citizens.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The monastery, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, was one of a number of Orthodox churches raided on Tuesday, as authorities responded to complaints that clergy had been glorifying Russia and could be in league with the Kremlin.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">A criminal inquiry was opened a week ago after a video emerged of pro-Russian propaganda being sung, referring to the awakening of Mother Russia.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Days later the head of a diocese in the Vinnytsia area of central Ukraine was charged with preparing propaganda leaflets backing Russia's invasion.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of being "at war" with the Orthodox Church for a long time. Patriarch Kirill condemned an "act of intimidation of believers".</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">As head of the Russian Church, the patriarch is widely seen as an ally of President Vladimir Putin and has given his full backing to the Russian war in Ukraine.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Shortly after the invasion began, he painted the war as a struggle of "metaphysical significance" against sin and Western pressure to hold "gay parades".</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">More recently he said any Russian who enlisted for combat in Ukraine was committing "an act that is tantamount to a sacrifice".</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">In Ukraine the raids were broadly welcomed, because the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) split from Moscow only six months ago after centuries under its control, leaving a suspicion that it is still used by the Kremlin to sway public opinion in Ukraine.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Since 2018, many Orthodox parishes in Ukraine have been joining a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was granted independence by the global Orthodox movement a year later.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">However, talks aimed at unifying the country's Orthodox community are yet to yield any tangible results.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Ukrainian political analyst Valentyn Hladkykh said the clergy and believers of the UOC ultimately had to decide who they served: "God or the Kremlin executioner." BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>