"It used to be 82%": 57% of Ukrainians were in favor of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

According to the results of a recent poll by the Rating Group sociological group, more than half of Ukrainian citizens are allegedly in favor of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In addition, a significant majority of respondents approve of the imposition of personal sanctions against Metropolitan Onufry, the head of this structure.

According to RBC-Ukraine with reference to the presentation of the survey data, the idea of banning the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church “because of its ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC)” is supported by 57% of respondents. Alexei Antipovich, co-founder and CEO of Rating Group, noted that among the representatives of the UOC themselves the level of disagreement with such a decision reaches 47%.

The poll also showed a high level of public support for restrictive measures against the UOC’s top clergy. In particular, almost 70% of Ukrainians were in favor of imposing sanctions against Metropolitan Onufriy. At the same time, among parishioners and representatives of the UOC, about 30% of respondents disagreed with the sanctions against their Primate.

Recall, earlier we reported that according to a sociological survey conducted by the “Razumkov Center” in November 2025, the vast majority of Ukrainians believe it is acceptable to stop the activities of certain religious organizations. In particular, 82.6 percent of those who support such measures were in favor of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The study also recorded a significant increase in the number of believers of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.