The Security Service of Ukraine suspects the governor of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Pavel (Lebed) of inciting inter-religious hatred (Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and justifying Russia's armed aggression (Article 436). His house was searched, according to the publication "Strana". The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) reported that Pavel’s statements about the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Patriarchate of Constantinople became the reason for presenting suspicions. The governor was placed under house arrest.
According to Pavel, he was also accused of "cursing the president's children." “I didn’t curse anyone. But I said the words of the Gospel that our tears will not fall to the ground, but will fall on the heads of those who caused these riots,” he stressed. Probably, it was a video message to Vladimir Zelensky, published by Pavel on March 30. In it, the governor says the following:
"Mr. President! I tell you and your pack that our tears will not fall to the ground, they will fall on your head. Do you think that, having come into power on our backs, you can do this? The Lord will not forgive you or your family! <…> You could not stop the Minister of Culture, possessed by rage, anger and hatred, which means that he does everything with your permission. Woe to you. Be afraid!
Earlier, the leadership of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra reserve demanded that the monastery of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate leave the territory of the Lavra until March 29. Until recently, he could use the property of the reserve free of charge, but a recently created working group "established a violation by the monastery of the terms of the agreement on the use of state property."
