Ukraine searches monastic complex, prompts anger in Moscow

By HANNA ARHIROVA
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s counter-intelligence service, police and the National Guard have searched of one of the most famous Orthodox Christian sites in the capital, Kyiv. The searches Tuesday of the Pechersk Lavra monastic complex were highly unusual — it is a World Heritage site. They came after a priest spoke favorably about Russia – Ukraine’s invader – during a recent service. They also come amid splits in the Orthodox church in Ukraine that have been sharpened by the nine-month Russian invasion. Ukraine’s security service said it would not allow incidents that harm the country’s security. In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukrainian authorities of “waging a war on the Russian Orthodox Church.”