Kyiv:

The Ukrainian government has filed criminal charges against Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, accusing him of aiding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A full-scale invasion of Ukraine was reportedly backed by Patriarch Kirill, who saw the conflict as a historic battle against evil.

He blamed Ukraine's satanism for the conflict and guaranteed the souls of Russian troops killed in action a place in heaven, and he frequently gave sermons in which he supported the Russian government.

Ukraine, in the meantime, has accused Kirill of trespassing on its territory, creating justification for war, and raising tensions. Kirill, a top member of Russia's military and political establishment who openly backed a ground invasion of Ukraine, was identified by Ukrainian intelligence as a key figure.

The Ukrainian government's crackdown on Ukrainian Orthodox churches with ties to the Moscow Patriarchate has intensified. Russian ties with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church allegedly led to its banning by parliament in October.

The Church tried to break away from the Mother Church in May 2022 because of its discontent with Russia, but doing so needed the approval of the Russian Orthodox Church. There was a lot of uproar when the Ukrainian government chose to take over the Kyiv Lavra monastery from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Because of concerns that its clergy were working with Russia, the Ukrainian parliament banned the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in October.