The news site Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP), Russian media outlets and pro-war Telegram channels are sharing a screenshot of an Instagram account with the nickname otec_nazarij, in which a clergyman of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from Hluhiv is calling on parishioners to pray and light a candle for the repose of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
This is a fake. Russian propagandists created a fake otec_nazarij account, took screenshots of posts and stories, and then deleted the fake account. There is currently no page with the nickname otec_nazarij.
The real account with the nickname nazariikovalov belongs to Orthodox Church of Ukraine chaplain Nazarii Kovaliov from Hlukhiv. On his Instagram page, he reports that the screenshots shared by Russian propagandists are fake.
The fact that Orthodox priests from UOC-MP are allegedly persecuted in Ukraine is one of the main narratives spread by Russian propagandists in the United States. Using such fakes, Russia is trying to discredit the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and bring Ukraine into conflict with the U.S. presidential candidate.
Russian propaganda earlier spread a fake about donations from Kolomoisky, Boholiubov and Zhevaho to Trump's election campaign.
Andriy Olenin
