Andriy Kovalev

Andrey Kovalev

Date of birth: October 23, 1990

Religious scholar, an OCU cleric, speaker of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Andrei Kovalev belongs to a group of religious scholars who call for violence and repression against Orthodox Christians.

Using his status, Kovalev lobbies for laws that violate the rights of the UOC believers and clergy, disseminates false information, and facilitates persecution.

Moreover, as an official of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kovalev allowed himself to make discriminatory statements regarding the clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in America.

On March 29, 2023, Andrey Kovalev made a post in which he used hate speech against parishioners of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

A religious scholar called the Orthodox Christians who came out in defense of their monastery as a "zombified pro-Russian crowd," "anti-Ukrainian hysterics," "ideological separatists," and "Ukrainophobes."

Moreover, the OCU cleric spread absurd and blatantly false stories about "allegedly" hired people to defend the monastery. Kovalev provided no evidence to support his claims.

However, these statements served to further persecute the UOC’s believers and clergy.

"I was in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra today and saw there... an anti-Maidan!
The same anti-Maidan as in Mariinsky Park during the Revolution of Dignity. Those forgotten feelings... A zombified pro-Russian crowd. The same people, the same words and actions, the same slogans, pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian narratives, classic anti-Ukrainian hysterics. Except there were no flags, like at the anti-Maidan.
These are people who call themselves Orthodox Christians, but are ready to kill you for their illusory idea of ​​​​a pseudo-Orthodox and pseudo-Russian identity.
Of course, I saw many ideological separatists and Ukrainophobes, but there was also a paid electorate who were brought in, put up in a hotel, fed. They had a separate role to jump into cameras, interrupt journalists and create, so to speak, an alternative reality. One such hysteric woman rushed at me shouting that Her husband serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces—I managed to expose her. Not only does her husband not serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it turns out she doesn't even have a husband. But she used the latest anti-Maidan argument—she started screaming curses in a panicked, incoherent manner and disappeared. I only managed to call out after her, "Repent!" Another paid hysterical woman tried to cover for her, saying, "Man, she wasn't cursing you, but the government that's persecuting our church. And we were told not to touch the military today. That's not for you."
The Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine is Putin's last hope. It's a quasi-religious organization that has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. It's Russia's soft power, which it's using to destroy Ukraine. We won't be able to defeat Russia unless we defeat this exegetical anti-Maidan.
I was in the Lavra today and saw the anti-Maidan, and of course, I saw a lot, but I definitely didn't see love in the Lavra today! Didn't the Savior say: “Then people will know that you are my disciples when there is love among you.”

(Source: Andrey Kovalev's personal Facebook page)

On July 18, 2023, Andrei Kovalev reported that the security services held "preventive conversations" with those initiating the fundraising to pay Metropolitan Pavel's bail.

On Channel 5, Kovalev, the former press secretary of the UOC-KP, commented on his Facebook post, where he spoke about donation boxes for bail payments.

In fact, they were forced to stop collecting funds to help the persecuted bishop.

In his opinion, “the ideological adherents of the MP are throwing money there (into donation boxes, – Ed.), but I’m not sure that they will be able to collect the 33 million hryvnias that have been declared for bail for citizen Lebed.”

He rejoiced that "publicity works in Ukraine," and reported that his Facebook post "was seen by some intelligence agencies," whose representatives "held preventative conversations with MP figures, and within a few hours, those signs regarding Metropolitan Pavel's bail were removed from the boxes (for donations, – Ed.), and these circuses ceased."

(Source: UOJ)

On June 4, 2024, Andrey Kovalev called the head of the OCA, Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, as a "Kremlin agent in a cassock" and called on the SBU to look into His Beatitude's visit to Ukraine.

He wrote about this on his Facebook.

In his opinion, the UOC wants to show that it is still recognized, which is why representatives from America come here.

"Mollard (Metropolitan Tikhon – Ed.) is a classic Trojan horse. He will publicly say, 'We support all of Ukraine's efforts to defend its borders,' but at the same time, Mollard, in English, will be voicing Russian narratives about the alleged 'persecution' of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine," Kovalev wrote.

He is concerned that the OCA Primate will, after his visit, speak about the persecution of the UOC by the authorities, will meet with American politicians, and thereby undermine the American elite's trust in Ukraine.

Kovalev calls on the SBU to investigate who authorized Metropolitan Tikhon to visit Ukraine and what funds were used to organize his trip.

(Source: UOJ)

On January 21, 2025, Kovalev publicly called for repression against Boryspil and Brovary Metropolitan Anthony.

In a post on his personal Facebook page, Kovalev spread false information that the bishop is allegedly the "curator of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine" and an "important agent of the Russian Federation."

Moreover, the religious scholar called on security forces to persecute the metropolitan.

Kovalev also spread false information about the alleged "dissemination of Russian funds" by UOC deacon Vadim Novinsky. The religious scholar also accused UOC parishes abroad of "indoctrinating believers with Russian propaganda."

None of these statements were supported by evidence. Each was made to create an atmosphere of harassment and incitement of hatred against the UOC.

"In the context of the SBI and SBU issuing a notice of suspicion to former Ukrainian MP Vadim Malkhasyan, better known by his pseudonym "Novinsky," Now I can seeing many headlines and posts calling him the curator of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
In fact, he was not the curator of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, do not exaggerate. He was and remains the paymaster of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The real curator of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine was and remains Ukrainian citizen Ivan Pakanich, better known as "Metropolitan Anthony."
Pakanich is the real curator of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and a key representative of Patriarch Kirill's interests in Ukraine. He communicates directly with Moscow. His main task is to keep an eye on the head of the Moscow Patriarchate, Onufriy Berezovsky. The main pro-Russian wing of the religious organization "UOC," which is in fact the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, is rallying around Pakanich.
Malkhasyan-Novinsky was introduced Pakanich, as an assistant and deputy for finance. He is the cashier of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The main Russian funds for financing pro-Russian projects flow through him.
And the most surprising thing in this story is that law enforcement agencies in Ukraine have no complaints against Pakanich. During the state's active opposition to Russia's interference in Ukraine's religious sphere, Pakanich never received any suspicions; his home was never searched.
Meanwhile, Novinsky fled abroad and is doing well. He is coping admirably with Moscow's new task of creating and financing a network of parishes of the "UOC" of the Moscow Patriarchate in other countries, primarily in Europe and the United States. The key goal of these communities is to gather Ukrainian refugees around themselves and carefully inundate them with Russian propaganda.
While we are told about the oligarch Novinsky's in absentia, the real curator of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, "Anthony" Pakanich, is doing well. He is successfully fulfilling his role, and as we all see, He's getting away with it.
At the very least, Pakanich is a very important agent for Russia, and the Russian authorities were willing to exchange him for a large number of captured Ukrainian soldiers.
The SBU won't come to Pakanich. Why? Is there really no political will?

(Source: Andrey Kovalev's personal Facebook page)