It is absurd to give any instructions to the UOC, referring to the documents of the ROC, - former head of the DESS

Former head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Olena Bohdan criticized attempts by the current leadership of the DESS to establish the affiliation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with centers in Russia, using Russian documents rather than Ukrainian ones. Bogdan noted that if the decision to ban the UOC is based on the statutory documents of the Russian Orthodox Church, it will have legal consequences at the international level. She spoke about this in an interview with Suspilne.

“From the point of view of international practice, international regulatory and legal standards that are accepted today in the Western world—and Ukraine has set a course for European integration—it is impossible to impose requirements on Ukrainian citizens with legal consequences for them based on documents in another country, especially in an aggressor state. The State Service will issue orders simply because something is written in the documents of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the aggressor state. It is impossible to comply with such orders,” – Bogdan said.