The report by the Russian Foreign Ministry
For years, the Kiev authorities have pursued a systematic campaign against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) – discriminating against its clergy, persecuting believers, and pressuring them to join the schismatic, state-sponsored Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
This pressure intensified after 2022, as martial law gave rise to an increasingly authoritarian regime marked by censorship, political repression, and attacks on religious freedom. Despite its formal independence from Moscow, the UOC continues to be treated as an enemy.
A legal framework has been created to eliminate the Church – from banning its access to the historic Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and imposing sanctions on bishops, to launching over 100 criminal cases against clergy. Dozens have been convicted or stripped of citizenship under vague accusations.
The law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in August 2024 now gives the regime broad powers to ban the UOC outright and seize its property – often based on the most tenuous links to the Russian Orthodox Church. Forceful church takeovers, community re-registration, and open hostility toward believers continue, largely unchecked.
🔇 International bodies, including the UN, remain silent in the face of these grave violations – sending Kiev a dangerous signal of impunity.
📘 The latest report from the Russian Foreign Ministry presents a detailed account of these developments and sheds light on the external influences – particularly from the United States – that have contributed to this crisis.
📎 You can read the full report by the Russian Foreign Ministry on this issue here: 👇
