Head of DESS declares "equality" of religious organizations amid legislative restrictions on UOC

Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), spoke to military chaplains about the «unique pluralism» of Ukrainian society and equal rights for all religious associations. However, statements about equality were made simultaneously with the discussion of mechanisms for implementing the law that restricts the activities of one of the country’s largest denominations.

According to the department’s Facebook account, the official met with students of advanced training courses at the Military Institute of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv on April 27, 2026. During the event, Yelensky emphasized that in Ukraine, both large and small religious organizations are allegedly endowed with absolutely equal rights. In addition, the head of the DESS discussed with the audience the prospects for the introduction of alternative service and current changes in the legislation on freedom of conscience.

However, despite the thesis of legal equality, Yelensky explained in detail to the chaplains the implementation of the law «on the protection of the constitutional order in the field of religious organizations,» which is actually aimed at banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). At the moment, 13 religious organizations are represented in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the OCU, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims, while the path to chaplaincy remains closed at the legislative level for the clergy of the UOC.

Earlier, the hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych), drew attention to the fact that the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations ignores violations of the rights of the clergy and believers of the UOC. The hierarch cited the forced mobilization of the UOC clergy as an example, noting that the AUCCRO seems to be ignoring what is happening.