A group of women have been uncovered as secretly working for Russian intelligence, and they are exactly who you would least suspect.
This comes after the Church of Sweden exposed the truth behind a network of nuns who were working in support of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The convent from Belarus was found to be raising money in aid of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by selling trinkets to Swedish churchgoers last Christmas, as investigated by The Telegraph.
In their reporting, it revealed that sisters from St Elisabeth church were working together to assist Russian intelligence.
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Speaking to The Telegraph, the rector of Täby, Sweden, Michael Öjermo, shared that he was unaware of the convent’s history before he invited them.
This comes after images surfaced of the nuns in Ukraine where they had been ‘boosting’ the morale of Russian soldiers.
A statement from the Church of Sweden issued a warning to other churches, detailing how the nuns were using their income to financially support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Öjermo said: “The Church of Sweden advises against supporting their activities in any way.”
He continued: “I’m old enough to remember when ministers came from the German Democratic Republic [Soviet East Germany]… if three came, two would be for real and one would be a spy for the Stasi.
“So, to me, it wasn’t a big problem to meet people from a church that I knew was dependent on a state that wasn’t ‘ok’ in my eyes.
“What I understood this time, that I didn’t understand before, is that they can be used as propaganda. I didn’t make that conclusion before, and I see that can be a problem.”
Meanwhile, the head of the Church of Sweden’s crisis planning unit, Kristina Smith, stated: “It’s a new thing for Sweden as a society… the full-scale invasion of 2022 was a rude awakening for a lot of Swedes,’ she said.
“We prided ourselves on not being at war for 200 years, for being a nice country, a country that everyone wanted to be nice towards, but I think it was an awakening for the entire country that that is not really the case.”
Russia has been at war with Ukraine since February 2022 after Russian troops conducted a large-scale invasion of the country.
Active peace talks continue as the countries are yet to agree on its terms, with Russia wanting Ukraine to concede control over the Donbas region and Ukraine asking for an unconditional ceasefire from Russia.