"Repressions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are personally carried out by Zelensky," — Artem Dmitruk on the persecution of the UOC

On March 27, 2025, Artem Dmitruk, a member of parliament currently in exile, spoke at the «Club of National Unity» conference. In his speech, he focused on religious topics, emphasizing the importance of unity among Orthodox Christians. Dmitruk began his address with a reference to sacred texts, calling for unity and peace, as reported by Religion in Ukraine.

«There will be no peace if it does not come from above; a spiritually void element cannot dominate on holy ground. We either understand this and conduct a united Liturgy in Kyiv, Moscow, Minsk, and other capitals of Orthodox Rus, or we will endlessly wash ourselves in each other’s blood, to the joy of foreigners,» he said.

Dmitruk then drew attention to the situation in Ukraine, stating that one of the greatest threats to peace is the so-called «genocide of Zelensky» against the Ukrainian people, focusing on the situation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Believing that the persecution of believers and clergy of the UOC is one of the biggest signs of this «genocide,» Dmitruk emphasized that such actions by the authorities are a serious threat to religious freedom in Ukraine.

«This is the seizure of churches, the persecution of clergy, and other repressive actions against the UOC,» he stated.

He also noted that the UOC is the largest religious organization in Ukraine, with around 8 million active members of the Church.

Dmitruk also expressed the view that the OCU is a «religious organization owned by Poroshenko and Zelensky,» stressing that Zelensky’s religious policy in Ukraine is no different from that of his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko. However, in his opinion, these repressions have become more pronounced.

«Zelensky’s crimes are clearly expressed in the persecution of clergy and believers. The most prominent examples are the persecution of Metropolitan Arseniy, Metropolitan Feodosiy, Metropolitan Pavel, and Metropolitan Longin,» the deputy emphasized.

Earlier, we reported that Ukrainian political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko expressed the opinion that the Ukrainian government had paused the issue of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. According to the political scientist, the government is changing its approach to this issue in light of the new administration coming to power in the United States, which is closely monitoring the developments regarding the UOC.