Sweden Exposes Network of Nuns Working for Russian Intelligence

In Sweden, nuns from 20 churches linked to the St. Elizabeth Monastery, according to journalists, worked for Russian intelligence and raised funds for Russian invasion forces under the guise of charitable activities.

The newspaper Metro reported on this.

The report says the revelations prompted the Church of Sweden, known for its openness and tolerance, to issue an official warning to other Catholic communities.

The warning concerns nuns from the St. Elizabeth Monastery, who in Sweden were informally dubbed “Z-nuns”.

According to the statement, the Sisters of St. Elizabeth used their income to support Russian nationalism and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and maintained close ties with the GRU.

The so-called “souvenirs” sold by the nuns in Swedish churches were in fact used to finance Russian military units.

In addition, the nuns reportedly visited temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to bolster the morale of Russian forces.

Christina Smith, head of the crisis planning group at the Church of Sweden, said the organization refused to rent church premises to the Russian Orthodox Church after it became clear it was seeking facilities near military bases.

Russian Church Agents in Estonia

It was recently reported that Russian nuns working in the Narva diocese of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate under fictitious contracts were banned from entering the Schengen area.

Following an investigation, their residence permits in Estonia were revoked.

Those named were Abbess Katerina Chaynikova and Nun Yuvenalia (Elvira Koroleva, call sign “Mother”) from the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Monastery near Moscow.

Formally, they were listed as employees of the Narva Cathedral.

In reality, they lived in Russia, actively assisted the Russian occupation army, while holding Estonian residence permits and using European social benefits.

The investigation found that the nuns openly supported the war against Ukraine, raised funds “for the special military operation,” including for the purchase of strike drones, Starlink equipment, and military gear, visited temporarily occupied territories, and cooperated with Russian invasion units.