Russian media distorts reporting about murder of priests in Slavyansk

2014/7/22 13:52:51

The Voice of Russia, which broadcasts to the English-speaking audience of the world, has presented the situation in such a way that the priests were killed by Ukrainian nationalists for helping pro-Russian militants. For the sake of enormity the Russian propagandists claimed an alleged kidnapping of a UOC-MP priest. But in fact it was archpriest Yuri Ivanov from the Kyiv Patriarchate who was abducted.


KYIV, July 22, 2014 (UBO*) - The Russian media have completely distorted the words of advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Herashchenko about the murder of four ministers of the Evangelical Church in Slavyansk by Russian mercenaries led by Igor Hyrkin (Strelkov), shifting the blame for the murder to Ukrainians, stated Religion in Ukraine with a reference to a blog of lawyer Maxim Vasin, executive director of the Institute for Religious Freedom.

 

The English service of The Voice of Russia radio has distorted the words of advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Herashchenko, who recently said: "The Minister instructed me to tell you that we exhumed the grave where two priests from Slavyansk and two sons of one of the two priests were buried after they were tortured and killed just because they helped our soldiers and fed them. And you know, the whole country and the whole world know about the horrible atrocities perpetrated by the militants.”

 

Instead, The Voice of Russia, which broadcasts to English-speaking audience of the world, has presented the situation in such a way that the priests were killed by Ukrainian nationalists for helping pro-Russian militants. For the sake of enormity the Russian propagandists claimed an alleged kidnapping of a UOC-MP priest. But in fact it was archpriest Yuri Ivanov from the Kyiv Patriarchate who was abducted.

 

In fact, it was the case of the two children of pastor Olexander Pavenkov from Evangelist Transfiguration Church - Reuben and Albert, and the two deacons of the Church - Victor Brodarskiy and Volodymyr Velichko, who were seized on June 8 by the militants of the “People’s Republic of Donetsk” on the fest of Trinity immediately during the festive divine service and were taken to the building formerly belonged to SBU and was seized by separatists in Slavyansk.

 

The Voice of Russia passed the dead priests as representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), as the reader had to infer from pictures and further list of persecutions of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. It is in this vein that the publication was reprinted by other media.

 

Among the persecuted UOC (MP) clergymen they mentioned the detained priest Volodymyr Maretsky, but forgot to clarify that he led a group of armed militants, and was engaged in grabbing election bulletins and disrupting the presidential elections in Luhansk region.

After these manipulations the Russian radio The Voice of Russia concluded that the Ukrainian government aims at ‘physical destruction of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine’."

 

Let us remind that in December 2013 Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree which created the Federal State Enterprise news agency Russia Today. “This media holding company combines a broadcaster The Voice of Russia and RIA Novosti news agency. The executive body of the news agency became the new CEO, appointed and dismissed by the President of the Russian Federation. Vesti Nedeli host Dmitry Kiselev was assigned to this post.

 

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*The article above appears through courtesy of the Religious Information Service of Ukraine. Access RISU at www.risu.org.ua

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