An 80-year-old nun was killed and eight other people injured Wednesday when a bomb exploded in a cathedral in the Ukrainian city of Saporoshye, local media reported.
The explosion coincided with the last day of a controversial visit by Russian Patriarch Kirill. The cathedral belongs to the Moscow patriarchy, dpa reported.
The bomb exploded at 4 pm local time (1330 GMT). Details of who may have set the bomb off were not yet known.
Ukrainian nationalists fear the Russian Orthodox church is increasing its influence in the country after the election of pro- Russian President Viktor Yanukovych earlier this year.
Numerous demonstrators have been arrested during protests against the patriarch's visit in the past few days.
The former Soviet republic is deeply divided between a nationalistic-leaning western part of the country and Russian- speaking majority in the eastern part. Saporoshye is located in south-eastern Ukraine.