Congresswoman Luna: Ukrainian officials will be held accountable for seizing UOC churches

A member of the US House of Representatives, Anna Paulina Luna, has promised to prosecute Ukrainian officials involved in the seizure of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) churches. The statement was made against the background of an appeal by UOC believers from the village of Kuzmin in Khmelnytsky region, in which they complain about the inability to protect their rights.

According to the SPJ in the USA, Anna Paulina Luna, in an exclusive commentary given on January 8, 2026 in the USA, confirmed her intention to compile a special list of officials involved in illegal actions to take away church property. This initiative is a response to numerous cases of violent seizures of UOC churches.

Commenting on the current situation, Anna Paulina Luna emphasized that all cases of violent seizure of churches are carefully documented. «We monitor the seizures of churches and compile a list of Ukrainian officials involved in these illegal actions. If the church in Kuzmin is taken away from the UOC believers, consequences will follow, » the SPJ quoted her as saying.

The reason for the statement was a video appeal of the UOC believers, which Anna Paulina Luna published in her account in the social network X. In this appeal, the parishioners testify to the impossibility of protecting their rights in their own country. «Ukrainian authorities forbid us to pray, take away our temples and leave us no defense,» the appeal reads. The believers also emphasize their law-abidingness: «We are ordinary law-abiding citizens of Ukraine, who have no one else to turn to for help and protection.»

Recall, earlier we reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to join the efforts of the United States and other countries to protect persecuted Christians around the world. The announcement came amid Israeli attempts to shore up support among American evangelicals, whose traditional favorability toward the state has become an increasingly polarizing topic, and amid growing criticism of Israel’s own treatment of Christian communities.