All this time, the Moscow Patriarchate remained an important instrument of the Kremlin's influence in Ukraine, - Poroshenko

Former Ukrainian President and People’s Deputy Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision of the DESS to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. The ex-president noted that he and his political force have long insisted on what the State Service has now adopted. He wrote about this on his Facebook account.

«More than five years ago, we demanded a simple and obvious decision from the authorities: to call things by their proper names. The UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate should be recognized for what it really is: a structure of the Russian Orthodox Church acting in the interests of the aggressor country. Today, the state has officially declared that the UOC-MP is affiliated with the ROC, whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine. This decision is belated, but correct,» — the former president wrote.

Poroshenko added that the activities of the UOC were part of the Russian Federation’s hybrid war against Ukraine, but now the state has all the legal grounds to completely ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

«When we talked about this five years ago, we were met with excuses and attempts to turn a blind eye to the obvious. All this time, the Moscow Patriarchate remained an important instrument of the Kremlin’s influence in Ukraine. And this is not a theory — more than once, priests of the MP were caught leaking coordinates for strikes, working for the FSB, spreading Kremlin propaganda, and justifying aggression. It was part of a hybrid war against Ukraine. But now the state has all the legal grounds to act. We must promote and support all communities that choose the Ukrainian church, but at the same time, the state must protect believers from the influence of the FSB cell in Ukraine,» — the politician said.

Earlier, military officer and civil activist Oleksiy “Stalker” criticized former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for positioning himself as a supporter and patron of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church until 2018. The military officer noted that since Poroshenko once belonged to the UOC, the former president has no right to criticize the current government on its path to achieving peace with Russia.