Ukrainian special services searching Ukrainian Orthodox Church premises in Cherkassy, Volyn and Kherson regions - media

MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Security Service of Ukraine officials on Wednesday are conducting "counterintelligence events" on the premises of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Cherkassy and Volyn regions and on the territory of the Kherson region controlled by Ukrainian troops, Ukrainian media reported.

The premises include five monasteries, three cathedrals, two churches, the administrative buildings of two dioceses, a Sunday school, and a diocesan library, the reports said.

On Monday, similar reports were conducted on the church's premises in the Poltava region. Before that, searches had been conducted in the Kiev Perchersk Lavra, Ukrainian Orthodox Church sites in the Rovno and Chernovtsy regions, and the residence of Metropolitan Ionafan of Tulchin and Bratslav in the Vinnitsa region.

According to media reports, SBU officials, in collaboration with representatives of the Church, are inspecting the territories and premises, looking for people who may be involved in illegal activities detrimental to Ukraine's state sovereignty, as well as searching for prohibited objects.

The stated purpose of the events is "to prevent the use of religious communities as a 'Russian World' cell."