OCU lobbyist criticizes protection of UOC rights abroad

Religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy and lobbyist for the OCU Lyudmyla Filipovych said that Russia will never give up using the church and religion as an absolute means of influence. According to her, it is impossible to explain current events in Ukraine without reference to sacred values, which, in the opinion of Russians, play a key role. She spoke about this in a commentary to Channel 24.

Filipovich said that a special forum is being prepared in Brussels to address “the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church on the course of the war, its results and Russian propaganda in Ukraine and Europe.” According to her, states are beginning to realize the importance of this factor. Filipovych warned that we should only expect an increase in Russian influence. Today, the Russian Orthodox Church is active on various platforms in Europe and the United States, conducting so-called “people’s diplomacy.” According to Filipovic, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church freely visit the Pentagon, Congress, and other US government agencies, “spreading narratives about the alleged persecution of Christians in Ukraine and the threat to Christianity from government policy.” Filipovych calls for extreme attention to these issues.

In turn, the Center for Countering Disinformation stated that the active dissemination of Lavrov’s statements that Russia “will not leave Orthodox people in Ukraine in trouble” is part of propaganda. In fact, according to the Center’s experts, the defense of canonical Orthodoxy is only one of the reasons to justify the continuation of armed aggression against Ukraine.

Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, confirmed the information that during the meeting of the Presidents of Russia and the United States, the issue of banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was discussed. According to Lavrov, the topic of the Ukrainian church crisis was considered in the context of a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war and was included in the package of proposals sent to the Ukrainian side.