Deputy head of Kyiv region SBU fired over interference in church transfers

The deputy head of the SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, has dismissed the deputy head of the SBU Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv Region, Yuriy Palahniuk, over interference in the transfer of UOC communities to the OCU, reports lb.ua.

On 7 September 2022, the SBU Directorate in Kyiv sent a letter signed by Yuriy Palahniuk to the Darnytsia district state administration, which said that the SBU sees "threats to national security" in the transfers of communities from the UOC to the OCU. 

Yuriy Palahniuk also asked the Department of Culture of the Kyiv Regional State Administration to provide copies of protocols and statutes of the religious community "Parish of the Protection of the Mother of God of the Boryspil Eparchy of the UOC in the village of Trebukhiv in the Brovary district, Kiev region", which was illegally transferred to the OCU.

The SBU said that "these letters were sent on his own initiative and in no way represent the position of the service", adding that the acting head of the SBU made a personnel decision on Yuriy Palahniuk: it goes about his dismissal.

As earlier reported, the SBU said that the transfer of communities from the UOC to the OCU poses a threat to the country's national security.

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