Russian Orthodox priest strikes Ukrainian with crucifix at funeral

A Russian Orthodox Church priest, identified as Mykhailo Vasylyuk, walked up to the altar and tried to beat Ukrainian chaplain Anatoliy Dudko with the cross he wore around his neck during the funeral of a Kiev soldier.

The attack took place in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on July 22, while Anatoly, a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was celebrating the funeral of military officer Oleksandr Zinivy.

The images, however, were released this Friday (29) by the local press, which explains that Vasylyuk would have been furious after the Ukrainian chaplain accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of starting the war in Ukraine to defend the Russian Orthodox faith. .

In a video shared on social media, it is possible to see the Russian priest going up to the altar, with the cross in his hand, pushing and pulling the chaplain’s clothes, who pushes him. In the sequence, the priest tries to hit the Ukrainian with the cross, while the victim tries to defend himself. Soon after, one of the security agents drives Vasylyuk away.

A prete of the patriarchate of the Mosca has attempted to collide with a representative of the Ukrainian Church with the croce that carried the collo during the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier in a rural village #ANSA https://t.co/hKYYmPyK6N pic.twitter.com/gtGeRvJS8v

— Agenzia ANSA (@Agenzia_Ansa) July 29, 2022

According to local activist Serhiy Timkov, the Ukrainian chaplain suffered minor injuries. “In my opinion, this goes beyond all possible and impossible limits of arrogance,” he wrote on Facebook.