(Bloomberg) -- Estonian authorities revoked the residency permit of the Russian Orthodox Church’s top cleric in the Baltic nation, where authorities have long accused the spiritual leader of supporting the Kremlin’s war. 

The Interior Ministry in Tallinn won’t renew the permit of Metropolitan Eugene, whose name is Valery Reshetnikov, when it expires on Feb. 6, it said in a statement. The ministry said it had repeatedly told Reshetnikov, a Russian citizen, not to legitimize Moscow’s war aims. 

“Reshetnikov supports the aggressor in his public actions and speeches, and despite previous warnings, he has not changed his behavior,” the ministry said in a statement. On its Facebook page, the church said it won’t comment. 

About a quarter of Estonia’s 1.3 million people are Russian-speaking and many are Russian Orthodox Christians. Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets said the church, also known as the Moscow Patriarchate, can continue to practice freely in Estonia and the government will not intervene any selection of its next leader. 

Last year, Estonia banned the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, from entering the country, in line with many EU members who have condemned Kirill’s steadfast support for Putin. The Russian church leader was an initial target of EU sanctions, but dropped from a proposed list in 2022 after Hungary disputed his inclusion. 

“The Moscow Patriarch is an extension of the Kremlin, which amplifies the Putin regime’s messages and justifies the bloody war of aggression in Ukraine, giving it his holy blessing as a religious leader,” Laanemets told reporters in Tallinn, referring to Patriarch Kirill. 

The decision comes days after the arrest of Viacheslav Morozov, a professor of international political theory at the University of Tartu, on suspicion of spying for Russia. 

The university terminated its contract with Morozov, a Russian citizen, at his own request. Morozov couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Estonian authorities allege that Morozov’s suspected cooperation with Russian intelligence spanned several years, allegedly meeting with his handlers during visits to Russia and receiving payment for services.

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