Russia

Russian Priest Gets 3 Years for Telling Troops They’re Going to Hell

THE TRUTH HURTS

“Ukraine did not attack Russia,” he said, telling the troops: “You’re the aggressors.”

Russian conscripts called up for military service line up before their departure for garrisons as they gather at a recruitment centre in Simferopol, Crimea, April 25, 2023.
Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters

A Russian priest who criticized the country’s war against Ukraine and publicly declared that Russian troops would go to hell was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday. Ioann Kurmoyarov, a former priestmonk of the Russian Orthodox Church, was found guilty by a St. Petersburg court of spreading “fakes” about the Russian military by posting videos on YouTube in which he criticized the Kremlin’s war machine. “Ukraine did not attack Russia,” he said in one such video, telling Russian troops, “You’re the aggressors.” In court on Thursday, Kurmoyarov apologized for his videos and promised not to speak about the military anymore, according to local media.

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