Patriarch Kirill may fall under EU sanctions after Viktor Orban's departure

Ukraine is considering the possibility of resuming the process of including the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, in the EU sanctions list. Viktor Orban’s resignation as Hungary’s prime minister may remove the main obstacle to the imposition of restrictions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. This is reported by The Telegraph.

According to the source, the Hungarian government has blocked Brussels’ attempts to impose sanctions on the Russian religious figure about 14 times. Ukraine’s commissioner for sanctions policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said in a commentary to The Telegraph that the issue of inclusion in the lists of oligarchs and religious figures, who were previously absent there thanks to the political support of allied governments, should be reviewed in the near future.

Recall that the European Commission proposed to include Patriarch Kirill in the list of supporters of Vladimir Putin back in the spring of 2022 as part of the sixth package of sanctions. Despite Hungary’s veto at the EU level, the Patriarch is already under personal sanctions of at least seven countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and Ukraine.

We will remind, November 22, 2024 Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree, according to which enacted the decision of the National Security and Defence Council on the deprivation of state awards “traitors of Ukraine”, first of all the distinctions will be deprived of 34 people. The “traitors of Ukraine” also included the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.