OCU lobbyist accuses State Emergency Service and SBU of facilitating travel abroad for UOC priests

OCU media lobbyist Andriy Kovalev accused the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) and the Security Service of Ukraine of allowing unimpeded travel abroad for clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In his opinion, this situation contributes to the fact that more and more information about the persecution of the UOC appears abroad, which, in turn, spoils the international image of Ukraine. He spoke about this in an interview with Channel 5.

«Russian emissaries, Russian propagandists in cassocks are very active, working with European politicians in different European countries, with politicians in the United States, telling them about the persecution of religion in Ukraine by President Zelensky and his team. And, unfortunately, many of these propagandists have Ukrainian passports. And they travel abroad, strangely enough, with the permission of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience. When approving these trips, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience consults, consults and informs the Security Service of Ukraine. And it looks very strange. For example, a very simple question is how men of military age who have neither armor nor are they deregistered, but have a holy rank, leave Ukraine,» Kovalev noted.

Earlier, we reported that Vita Titarenko, Advisor to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who spoke at the forum «Resilient Europe: Forum to Counter Russian Disinformation and Propaganda» held in Brussels, accused the UN and the World Council of Churches of protecting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from persecution by the Ukrainian authorities. Titarenko believes that the criminal cases opened against UOC clerics demonstrate the urgent need to limit the activities of the UOC in the country.