"This is state persecution, plain and simple," Whiteford on the UOC ban trial

The co-chair of the National Federation of Young Republicans, Katherine Whiteford, publicly addressed Ukrainian judges considering a possible ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), warning them against “tyranny” and emphasizing the close attention of the international community. The statement came late in the evening of September 29, 2025, when Whiteford posted a video message on the X network.

“America and the world are watching – accountability is inevitable, ” Whiteford said in her message to the judges who are to hear President Zelensky’s case for the legal liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

According to the data provided, the State Service for Ethno-politics and Freedom of Conscience (SESC) is exerting legal pressure on the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the UOC. Despite assurances by the SESS and state media that there is no persecution of Christians, the international community expresses a different opinion.

Previously, the Vatican, the United Nations, the Anglican Church, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. State Department expressed their concerns about the regime’s treatment of the UOC – the largest and oldest religious organization in the country.

In July, the Ukrainian government stripped the UOC’s primate, Metropolitan Onufriy of Kiev and All Ukraine, of his Ukrainian citizenship, saying his Soviet-era student ID card was “proof” of Russian citizenship. “This is state persecution, plain and simple,” Whiteford emphasized.

“If this happens, millions of Ukrainians will lose their churches, their monasteries, even the right to pray in their homes. Clergy are already being targeted – some have even been sent to the front lines, where some were killed, ” she continued, outlining the potential consequences of the ban.

As a reminder, we recently reported that the Geneva-based human rights organization Justice for All International (JPTi) documented facts of persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, filing a detailed complaint with the UN. In response, UN experts sent an official appeal to the Ukrainian government, confirming violations of international law. In addition, the organization appealed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) with a demand to hold hearings on the issue and to add Ukraine to the list of countries of particular concern.