A newly built Russian Orthodox church on the outskirts of Västerås has become a test case for how European municipalities manage sites located near strategic infrastructure.

The Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, inaugurated in 2023, sits close to Stockholm-Västerås Airport and has drawn scrutiny from Swedish authorities over its financing and its location. Investigations by Swedish and international outlets report that the construction received support from a foundation linked to Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation.

The question of why a Rosatom-connected entity would invest in a parish in central Sweden has been raised by researchers of hybrid threats and by local media. Swedish reporting indicates the parish belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate and benefited from Russian state-linked support, factors that have heightened concern given the church’s siting close to an airport, industrial zones and other sensitive facilities. A Euronews analysis also notes the church’s proximity—around five kilometres—to Westinghouse’s Västerås plant, which manufactures nuclear fuel assemblies.

Sweden’s Security Service (Säkerhetspolisen, Säpo) warned the municipality during the permitting process that the project posed security risks due to the location and the church’s design features. Local media have since reported that the municipality nonetheless progressed the build. In 2024, following an opinion from Säpo, the National Authority for Support to Faith Communities (Myndigheten för stöd till trossamfund, SST) decided that the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) would receive no organisational grant for the year, citing the democratic criterion in Swedish law and security concerns outlined by Säpo.

International coverage amplified the case in mid-2025. A France 24 investigation reported Swedish authorities’ suspicions that the site could be used for intelligence-gathering activities, highlighting its location roughly 300 metres from the airport. Subsequent summaries and follow-ups in other outlets repeated these details, adding that the funding trail pointed to a Rosatom-backed foundation. The Russian Embassy has rejected these claims.

Local politics have shifted in response. In spring 2025, the Moderate Party group in Västerås proposed exploring expropriation to relocate the church away from the airport. The municipal executive later voted to examine a compulsory acquisition, with officials citing national security considerations. By September 2025, Västerås city leadership confirmed it would apply to take over the property, a process that would involve central government. Councillors have stated that the issue concerns the siting of the building rather than religious practice.

The SST decision did not affect freedom of worship; it removed eligibility for state organisational grants. In its public notice, SST referenced Säpo’s assessment that the Moscow Patriarchate’s structures in Sweden had contacts with Russian security and intelligence services and had received significant state financing on multiple occasions, which, in the authority’s view, failed Sweden’s “democratic criterion” for support. The measure applied nationally to the denomination, not solely to Västerås.

Moscow’s position is that the scrutiny amounts to an anti-Kremlin campaign that harms parishioners. Russia’s ambassador to Sweden, Sergey Belyaev, has publicly dismissed allegations that Russian Orthodox institutions are used for hybrid operations, characterising them as unfounded. He has argued that local authorities themselves assigned the church its plot and that the present effort to relocate the church contradicts earlier municipal decisions.

For investigators and security analysts, the Rosatom link is salient because it suggests a state-connected funding channel to a site near critical assets. Euronews and other outlets have reported that Swedish authorities are assessing whether Russian Orthodox sites abroad can serve as platforms for influence or intelligence work; the Västerås church has been cited as a case study within that broader question. At the same time, authorities have to separate legitimate worship from prohibited activity, a distinction reflected in the SST’s grant decision and in municipal statements that frame the issue as one of location and security rather than religion.

What happens next will depend on the expropriation process and any central-government decision on relocating the church. Under Swedish law, relocations for security reasons require a clear public-interest justification and procedural safeguards. In the interim, the church remains in place and has not been shut. Reporting suggests parish representatives have largely declined comment to media, and Swedish law limits intrusive surveillance of religious sites, which complicates evidentiary findings.

In summary, the financing trail tied to a Rosatom-linked foundation, the Russian Orthodox church’s location by a strategic airport, and Säpo’s warnings triggered a funding cutoff at the national level and a municipal bid to move the building. Russia rejects the premise of the case. The Swedish government will ultimately determine whether the site is relocated, balancing national-security assessments with protections for freedom of religion.

Main Image: RefDr via Wikipedia

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