Representative of the Presidential Office: "Ukraine has never banned the UOC"

Ukraine does not intend to close churches and has no plans to do so in the near future. However, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is required to renounce its status of affiliation with the aggressor country. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Olena Kovalska.

According to Interfax-Ukraine, Kovalska emphasized that Ukraine is a democratic state that operates within the law. “Not a single church has been closed by the state and will not be closed in the near future. We are talking about the UOC giving up its status of being affiliated with the aggressor country,” Interfax-Ukraine quoted her as saying. She clarified that the approach to this issue is similar to the attitude to business: you cannot be associated with the aggressor. In the case of a religious structure, this seems even more dangerous because of its influence on people.

Kovalska also noted that Ukraine has never banned the UOC. According to the law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Religious Organizations,” the country banned the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which is considered “an ideological continuation of the Russian regime, which is an accomplice to crimes against humanity.” As for the UOC, for free and unhindered functioning, it must withdraw from this organization (ROC).

The official noted that Ukraine “does not impose any requirements on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change the language of worship, calendar reforms, unauthorized proclamation of autocephaly or accession to another church. The only condition is to break ties with the center, which openly declares its goal to destroy Ukraine.

According to Kovalska, the leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has so far refused to comply with the order of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS). In response, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience filed a lawsuit to terminate the activities of the Kyiv Metropolis, the governing center of the UOC. “In fact, the UOC is fighting in court for the right to continue to be subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate,” Kovalska summarized, reiterating that the UOC can still comply with the order, break its subordination and operate freely in Ukraine.

Earlier, we reported that in Washington, representatives of various Orthodox churches and Christian communities organized a “Day of Action for Orthodox Christians and their Allies” to draw attention to the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The event, which took place on December 16, 2025, on Capitol Hill, brought together about 200 participants. They held dozens of meetings with members of Congress and visited all the offices of the House of Representatives and the Senate, calling on lawmakers to protect the rights of believers.