Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said on Oct. 20 that it had notified Artem Sharlai, a Russian occupation official previously investigated by the Kyiv Independent, of suspicion of war crimes in absentia over his alleged involvement in the persecution of religious communities in occupied Melitopol.
According to the SBU, Sharlai heads the department responsible for religious organizations within Russia's occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He also served as Russian President Vladimir Putin's authorized representative in occupied Melitopol during Russia's 2024 presidential election.
Investigators allege that Sharlai helped organize widespread repression against religious communities that resisted Russian occupation or refused to join the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Kyiv Independent previously investigated Sharlai's involvement in religious persecution in its documentary No God But Theirs, released in May 2025.
The investigation documented the systematic persecution of Christian communities in occupied Melitopol, including the closure of churches, confiscation of religious property, and detention and forced expulsion of clergy.
In the documentary, Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest Oleksandr Bohomaz identified Sharlai as one of the officials personally involved in searches of religious properties, including inspections of religious literature.
The Kyiv Independent's undercover journalists also contacted Sharlai while posing as representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church.
During the recorded conversation, Sharlai discussed efforts to suppress religious groups he described as "sects" and identified two associates — Andrii Zinchenko and Viacheslav Lytvynenko — involved in his department's activities.
According to the SBU, Sharlai compiled lists of pro-Ukrainian parishioners for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which were subsequently used to carry out raids against clergy and worshippers.
During these raids, Russian forces allegedly abducted people from their homes or the streets and detained them in occupation-run prisons, where they were subjected to torture, including beatings and suffocation with plastic bags, the SBU said.
Sharlai was notified of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, which concerns violations of the laws and customs of war.
The SBU said the investigation remains ongoing under the supervision of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.