Almost all journalistic teams in Ukraine have already written and shot stories about the traitor clergymen and their role in the war with the Russians. These characters deserve special attention, because the years of open and unpunished promotion of pro-Russian narratives through the church gave the clergy an opportunity to create a powerful and extensive agent network in Ukraine. Clergymen from Sumy Oblast were no exception.

Priest Oleksandr Boiko is the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the village of Deptivka in the Sumy Oblast, which was under Russian occupation. The priest helped the Russian military during the occupation, and promoted pro-Russian sentiments among the locals. When the Ukrainian Army liberated the region, priest Boiko was charged with collaboration. By court decision, he received a fine and correctional works.

Another Sumy clergyman, Oleksii Maslennikov, was suspected of treason by the Security Service of Ukraine shortly before the publication of this text. During the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the metropolitan held religious services with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of Russia, blessed the occupiers for the war in Ukraine and, in the end, remained in Russia. In the material, we confirm that the Metropolitan has a Russian passport.

The Russians spent a lot of resources on creating an agent network among churchmen, trying to influence as many citizens as possible. The Ukrainian special services have now begun to work actively in the direction of identifying and punishing traitorous clerics, but what was the point of waiting so long?