Additional Name(s): Костянтин Максимов

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Russia

Religion or Belief: Christian – Orthodox

Date of Detainment: May/16/2023

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief Religious Expression Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role

Nature of Charges: Espionage

Kostiantyn Maksimov

Extra Bio Info:

Kostiantyn Maksimov is detained for his religious belief.

On May 16, 2023, Russian forces in Russian-occupied Chongar, Ukraine, detained Maksimov, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as he was trying to cross into Russian-occupied Crimea. The head of the Russian Religious Organizations Department at the Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration's Social and Political Communications and Information Policy Department told Forum 18 that Maksimov had not supported the integration of the Berdyansk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church into the Russian Orthodox Church, which had occurred days before his detainment.

In April 2024, the Russian-installed Prosecutor's Office of the Zaporizhzhia Region announced that Maksimov had been indicted for espionage (Art. 276 RCC) after it accused him of providing the location of Russian air defense systems to Ukrainian Security Services.

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