Ruslan Stefanchuk: There are no votes in parliament to ban the UOC

On September 23, 2023, Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, said in an interview with Radio Liberty, when asked why bills providing for the ban of the UOC are not put to a vote, that the parliament lacks the necessary 226 votes to make a relevant decision.

«Parliament is a mechanism that makes decisions collectively. And it seems to me that so far there are not 226 votes around such an important piece of legislation. To bring it to the hall, to fail in order to simply please the Russian Federation, is simply senseless and legally and politically irresponsible,» Stefachuk said.

He added that he wants to believe that he will see 226 votes, but, according to him, «for now there is an internal discussion that is taking place not only within Servants of the People, but also within other parties that position themselves as very patriotic.»