A top Ukrainian cleric has been placed on 60-day house arrest for glorifying the Russian invading forces and stoking religious division, the church has said.
Metropolitan Pavlo has become the latest victim of Kyiv’s cracking down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which it maintains is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow, a charge the church has denied.
In a statement, the UOC said a Kyiv court also ordered Metropolitan Pavlo to wear an electronic bracelet. The Interfax Ukraine and Ukrinform news agencies said Pavlo had been given 60 days of house arrest.
“I haven’t done anything. I believe this is a political order,” Pavlo told reporters after the ruling.
Russia’s TASS state news agency said the court ordered Pavlo to live in a village some 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Kyiv. Pavlo said the house was not fit for inhabitation.
“There is nothing to sleep on, no heat and no light. There is no kitchen, no spoon. But it’s okay, I’ll endure it all,” he said.
