Russian priest known as Putin's "confessor" hit by EU sanctions

The European Union imposed sanctions on more than 80 people and entities over Moscow's war in Ukraine Monday, including an Orthodox priest described in Russia as President Vladimir Putin's "confessor." Georgiy Shevkunov, also known as Metropolitan Tikhon, a senior bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church, was targeted for "spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation" aimed at justifying the invasion of Ukraine, the bloc said in a statement . Often referred to in Russian media as Putin's "personal priest" and "confessor" — a claim he has neither confirmed nor denied — Shevkunov was named Metropolitan of Crimea , the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014, in 2023. In February last year, Russia's FSB security service said it had arrested two people after thwarting a Ukrainian-ordered plot to kill the prelate. The bishop was among 34 individuals and 47 entities that EU countries added to a Russia sanctions list Monday. "We approved another batch of sanctions to put more pressure on Russia to end the war," said the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. "These measures strike at the heart of Russia's military-industrial complex, its shadow fleet, and the networks that fuel Moscow's hybrid attacks against Europe." Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, left, and Metropolitan Tikhon (Georgiy Shevkunov) visit the Orthodox Russia Exhibition at the Manezh Exhibition Hall in Moscow, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. …