The head of the DESS called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church “a continuation of the criminal regime”

The head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) believes that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a “continuation of the criminal regime” and a “branch of the Russian Federation” in Ukraine. The official is convinced that in order to prove the opposite, the UOC must renounce all ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, as required by anti-church law No. 3894. He stated this in an interview with the publication “Ukrinform.”

“This is an extraordinary step—religious organizations have never been banned in Ukraine before. But we are talking about a structure that is an ideological continuation of a criminal regime. This is not just a religious organization, it is—to quote directly from the PACE resolution—a ‘branch of the Russian Federation’”, — Yelensky emphasized.

The official noted that a recent DESS examination indicates the affiliation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church, in connection with which the Church is required to fulfill the conditions set by the state regarding the termination of these ties. Yelensky called those who defend the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and internationally “useful idiots.”

«There have already been expert examinations that indicated the affiliation of the UOC with the Russian Orthodox Church. And this has been confirmed by a new study: of the seven signs of affiliation provided for by law, the UOC meets four. This order destroys the structures of those law firms hired by fugitive oligarchs, ill-wishers, and simply useful idiots. They said that the law destroys religious freedom. But it is exclusively about one thing: the Kyiv Metropolis must ensure the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Russian Orthodox Church,» — explained the head of the DESS.

It should be noted that earlier, before the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 3894 on the prohibition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Viktor Yelensky repeatedly stated that it would not affect the UOC.