Poltava regional council prepares new appeal to ban UOC activities

Poltava regional councillors prepare text of new appeal to parliament to ban activities of UOC. Preliminary votes for the appeal to ban the UOC have failed due to a lack of votes, the source zmist.pl.ua has said.

The factions are now changing the text of the draft decision and have found arguments that should make it legal rather than emotional.

«Personally, almost half of MPs supported the decision. For some MPs, it is important that we apply for competence. Informally, we could appeal or respond to an institution that can decide that. Now based on the decision of the NSDC, we will submit this appeal to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine . There will be a reason. Earlier, the appeals were emotional and everyone agreed that the arguments should be legal,» Poltava Regional Council Chairman Oleksandr Belenkyy said.

According to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of December 1, 2022 on the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience concluded that «the UOC has not broken the church-canonical relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church.

An appeal of the Verkhovna Rada to terminate land lease or use agreements with religious organizations that «do not officially indicate their subordination to the Russian Church» was submitted for consideration at the last session of the regional council on May 30.

The new appeal will now specify the terminology under draft law No 8371 «on banning religious organisations associated with Russia».