The head of the DESS: "In Ukraine from mobilization booked 6.5 thousand clergymen"

As of today, 6.5 thousand heads of religious organizations in Ukraine have been granted the right to defer mobilization through the reservation procedure. The head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelenskyy, said that such an opportunity is available to representatives of religious organizations recognized as critical for the functioning of the economy.

According to the Interfax news portal, of the 35,000 religious organizations operating in the country, just over 10,000 (10,922 facilities) have been granted the status of critical infrastructure. It is the priests officially working in these organizations who are entitled to the reservation. At the same time, Viktor Yelenskyy stressed that organizations belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church cannot be recognized as strategic, and their clergymen are not subject to reservation.

At the same time, according to the results of sociological surveys, the issue of clergy participation in the country’s defense causes mixed reactions in the society. About 25% of respondents believe that clergymen should serve in the army on an equal footing with all citizens. At the same time, 44% of respondents are of the opinion that there should be exceptions for clergy, in particular, their involvement as non-combatants.