Trump's team will use state's conflict with UOC, media sources say

The sources of the Ukrainian edition of Strana.ua claim that the process of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be delayed, as the Ukrainian government is aware of the risk of spoiling relations with the team of US President Donald Trump over issues of violation of religious freedom. According to media reports, every time churches are taken away from the UOC in favor of the OCU, it distances the Ukrainian establishment from the current American elites. This is reported in the publication “Country.ua”.

“Almost in every case when they are trying to transfer the community to the OCU and take it away from the UOC, protests of believers and clashes begin. If the process of taking away churches is massive, then the clashes can also become very large-scale. And this will be immediately used by many members of Trump’s team to undermine relations between Kyiv and Washington and to stop military aid. Therefore, there is an opinion that the process should not be pedaled for now. Especially since the UOC does not pose any threat to Ukraine. But there are those who demand quick action against the UOC from the end of May,” – the source said.

Earlier, Ukrainian political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko commented on the statements of representatives of the Ukrainian government on the implementation of anti-church law No. 3894, aimed at banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The political analyst claims that the full implementation of the law will lead to a negative reaction from the United States.