The Security Service of Ukraine detained a Russian provocateur in Bukovina, who had been hiding in Ukrainian Orthodox monasteries for 2.5 years.

In Bukovina, SBU and police officers apprehended a pro-Russian provocateur at one of the monasteries of the UOC MP, who was attempting to flee abroad. The 20-year-old resident of Cherkasy had been constantly praising the actions of Kremlin leaders on social media and had been hiding in UOC monasteries in the Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions for 2.5 years to avoid detection.

According to the SBU of Cherkasy region, the 20-year-old from Cherkasy published posts on Instagram supporting the occupiers after the full-scale war began. In his comments and publications, the perpetrator praised the Kremlin’s appointee, the ruler of Russian Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the armed groups under his command, which are fighting against Ukraine. According to sources from Ukrainska Pravda, the individual in question is Alexander Neymet from Cherkasy.

“At the same time, the provocateur spread false information about Ukrainian soldiers and called for them to lay down their arms before the occupiers. The special services uncovered him in the summer of 2022. In July 2022, the perpetrator was charged under part 3 of article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification, recognition of the legitimacy, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants),” – reported the SBU of Cherkasy region on Wednesday, January 8.

One day before the preventive measure was chosen, the suspect secretly left his home and began hiding at a local women's monastery of the UOC MP. Law enforcement agencies declared him wanted.

During the search for the provocateur, law enforcement officers determined that the 20-year-old from Cherkasy had left the women's monastery and initially traveled to Ternopil region, where he lived at one of the UOC MP monasteries. Later, he moved to Chernivtsi region, where he also found refuge in a UOC MP monastery. In exchange for “shelter,” the suspect worked as a laborer.

In Bukovina, the 20-year-old perpetrator planned to illegally cross the border into Romania. For this purpose, he began actively learning a foreign language and developing routes for illegal border crossing. However, SBU officers detained him near the monastery.

Currently, the suspect has been placed under a preventive measure of detention with the possibility of bail, as noted by the Cherkasy regional prosecutor's office. He faces up to 8 years in prison with asset confiscation.