“The National Security and Defense Council has instructed the government to submit a bill to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) to prohibit the activities in Ukraine of religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in Russia,” he said in his usual evening address. by video. .
According to Zelensky, the Ukrainian state should also examine the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in connection with “the presence of a canonical link with the Moscow Patriarchate and, if necessary, take the measures provided for by law”.
These measures are in line with searches carried out by Ukrainian security services in November at the main monastery of Kiev, the capital and residence of the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and other places of worship, justified by suspected ties to Moscow.
Ukrainian secret services then announced the confiscation of thousands of dollars and “pro-Russian literature”.
Ukraine, an Orthodox-majority country, is divided between a Church dependent on the Moscow Patriarchate — which, however, announced at the end of May that it would cut ties with Russia over its invasion of the country — and another Church represented by the Patriarchate of Moscow. Kiev and who in 2019 pledged allegiance to Patriarch Bartholomew, based in Istanbul.
In the west of the country, the influence of the Greek Catholic Church is significant, which observes Orthodox liturgy but obeys the Pope.
Patriarch Kirill, the highest head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has expressed his strong support for President Vladimir Putin and denounced the actions of the police in Ukraine as an “act of intimidation” against believers.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 has already led to the flight of more than 13 million people — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries — according to the latest data of the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 6,655 civilian casualties and 10,368 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
