American politician: Dumenko told me that Zelensky respects freedom of religion

American journalist Tucker Carlson held a conversation with former US Vice President Mike Pence about the religious situation in Ukraine. According to Carlson, Zelensky is actually engaged in repression of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, to which Pence replied that Epifany Dumenko assured him during the meeting that there is no persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The forum was broadcast on YouTube by BlazeTV.

As Mike Pence had recently visited Ukraine, Tucker Carlson asked whether the politician had touched upon the persecution of the UOC in his conversation with Zelensky.

Mike Pence said that he had talked to Epifaniy Dumenko on this topic, and the latter told Pence that there was no persecution of the UOC in Ukraine.

“I asked him (Dumenko, – Ed.) about the existing problems, about the observance of religious freedom in Ukraine, and he assured me that Zelensky and his government respect religious freedoms. At the same time, he said that there are minor elements of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine that are being used to promote the ‘Russian idea’ in Ukraine, and that the authorities are taking steps to hold them accountable,” the U.S. politician relayed.

“In St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kiev, he personally told me that Zelensky’s government respects religious freedom. In my mind, there is no task more important, beyond the sanctity of human life, than preserving religious liberty in America and upholding that principle around the world,” Pence added.

But Tucker Carlson contradicted his words and said that “Zelensky is arresting clergy for holding different views that the authorities do not share, which in no way means respecting freedom of religion, but rather trampling on that freedom.”

“I spoke to a Christian leader in Kiev and asked if this is really the situation, and he assured me that it is not. That people are not being persecuted for their religious beliefs,” Pence reiterated.

Tucker Carlson emphasized that the former vice president had spoken to only one denominational leader “who is obviously sticking to his side, while there are a tremendous number of news reports that undeniably show that many members of the clergy have been arrested.”