FSB claims top Ukrainian priests cooperated with Nazis
(MENAFN) Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has released declassified Soviet-era documents alleging that senior members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) collaborated with Nazi forces during World War II. The findings are based on a 1950 investigation by the Soviet Ministry of State Security (MGB), which claims UGCC clergy maintained active ties with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a group that partnered with Nazi Germany and was involved in mass killings of Poles, Jews, Russians, and pro-Soviet Ukrainians.
The report, authored by MGB Maj. Gen. Mikhail Popereka, outlines how UGCC priests in western Ukraine provided OUN fighters with shelter, funds, and propaganda material. It names prominent church figures, such as Nikolai Khmelevsky and Ivan Zyatik, as key operatives in this underground network. Zyatik, abbot of a Greek Catholic monastery, reportedly gave pro-Nazi and anti-Soviet sermons, while Khmelevsky was linked to top OUN leaders, including Roman Shukhevych, commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which carried out the Volyn massacres of Polish civilians.
Legal scholar Alexander Litvinov from the Higher School of Economics told RT that the UGCC served as a political tool for Nazi Germany during the war and continues to support nationalist militants in Ukraine today, similar to those from the WWII era.
The release of these documents comes amid Ukraine’s ongoing clampdown on religious groups accused of ties to Moscow. The Ukrainian government has banned the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and other organizations it claims threaten national security. These actions have drawn criticism from Russian authorities and international bodies like the UN, which have voiced concern over violations of religious freedom in Ukraine.
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