Parliament should ban the UOC-MP as soon as possible: Danilov explains why

Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov said that the Verkhovna Rada should ban the UOC-MP as soon as possible. According to him, since Russia has no success on the frontline, it may use its church to destabilise the situation in Ukraine.

Danilov said this during an all-Ukrainian telethon. According to him, the Kremlin has been trying to divide Ukraine into two parts for years.

"Unfortunately, religious institutions that are subordinate to the Russian Federation are involved in this," he said.

The NSDC Secretary added that he negatively assesses the fact that the Parliament has not yet adopted a law concerning the activities of the UOC-MP.

"It is a pity that the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada have not yet adopted laws that would put an end to this issue. We need to do this, because if we leave this problem unresolved, it is only a matter of time before they will use people, some in an open and some in a closed format, to achieve their goal," he explained.

However, when asked if this meant a complete ban on the UOC-MP, Danilov explained that it is necessary that the activities of this church comply with the laws of Ukraine and the Constitution.

"This is how it should be interpreted. We are not banning anyone, we are saying that if you have a registration centre in Muscovy, then keep in mind that this is not acceptable at a time when we are at war with Russia," the NSDC Secretary concluded.

It should be noted that 66% of Ukrainians support a complete ban on the activities of the UOC-MP in Ukraine. Another 19% support an approach that does not involve a complete ban, but they support the idea of establishing state control.

On Friday, 9 June, deputies of the Kyiv Regional Council supported a historic decision to ban the activities of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate in the region. The deputies of the Kyiv Regional Council voted to appeal to the Verkhovna Rada to legislate the ban on the activities of religious organisations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has ecclesiastical and canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church and is in a relationship of subordination with it.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the activities of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate were also banned in Zakarpattia. The decision was made on 1 June 2023 at a meeting of the Transcarpathian Regional Council.

Earlier, deputies of the Chernivtsi Regional Council banned the activities of religious organisations and associations that have a proven ecclesiastical and canonical connection with the aggressor state of Russia. The deputies voted for this decision on 16 May.

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