Lawyer Robert Amsterdam Warns Investors: Ukraine Persecutes the Church and Undermines Rule of Law

On July 10, 2025, international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, who represents the interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), issued a strong statement warning Western investors against investing in Ukraine due to gross violations of religious rights and the breakdown of the legal system in the country. The statement came amid the International Ukraine Recovery Conference taking place in Rome, attended by Western governments. Amsterdam used the occasion to draw attention to systemic human rights violations in Ukraine, particularly the repression of the UOC. He made the statement on the social network X.

“Investors gathering in Rome to pledge support for Ukraine’s recovery will be confronted with a bitter truth,” the lawyer wrote. He noted that the Ukrainian government “undermines the rule of law through politically motivated sanctions, asset seizures, and repression of religious institutions.” In his view, this makes investing in Ukraine “risky and morally questionable.”

It is also worth recalling that the law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP and international lawyer Robert Amsterdam had earlier issued a statement in response to actions by the Ukrainian authorities against His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy. The document described these actions as repressive measures by President Volodymyr Zelensky, which, according to the lawyers, violate both national and international legal standards.