Archim. Feognost (Pushkov), PhD in Theology, rector of the St Nicholas Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Kuryachivka in the occupied part of the Luhansk oblast of Ukraine. Currently, he is a freelance cleric. He lives with his elderly mother in the village of Prosyanoye, Markovsky district of the occupied part of the Luhansk Oblast (the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic).
In his Telegram channel, archim. Feognost reported that he received a notice from the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation about the initiation of administrative proceedings against him for discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The case was registered on 24 April 2023. According to the document, the case was initiated following the claim from the «Luhansk People Republic prosecutor’s office.»
The archimandrite was hinted that the matter would be brought to a fine. However, he was not told why what was the substance of his alleged crime of discrediting the Russian army.
On 7 June 2024, security agencies came to Archimandrite Feognost (Pushkov) the Zhovtnevoy Court of Lugansk search order. They confiscated his office equipment. On 11 June 2024, he was summoned for questioning. The priest is suspected of being an informant for the Ukrainian intelligence. Due to pressure and threats, as well as due to the poor health of himself and his elderly mother whom he is caring for, Archimandrite has been forced to stop speaking out about politics.
On 20 June 2024, he was again summoned for questioning to the duty station of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Markovsky district. There, he became ill and an ambulance was called. There has been no news of him since 20 June; he has not been released.
