moscow Patriarchate, russian Orthodox Church, special services of russia, Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Since the very beginning of its own aggression against Ukraine (that is, since 2014), russia has been trying to create an image of "Ukrainian radicalism", "neo-Nazism" and the like on the world stage. One of the areas where the kremlin's special services are investing a lot of resources is religion. Let's try to figure out what is really happening in 2 minute.

Truth: Ukraine continues to fight for its own spiritual independence. On August 20, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for draft law No. 8371 "On the protection of the constitutional order in the sphere of activities of religious organizations." Here are the main conclusions from this law:
• Spiritual independence is another dimension of sovereignty and a factor of national security in the face of full-scale russian aggression. The connection of religious organizations of Ukraine with moscow is unacceptable.
• The moscow Patriarchate is an integral part of the putin regime, hostile to Ukraine, its independence, territorial integrity, national identity and security.
This is true, because the higher "spiritual" leadership of the russian Orthodox Church (ROC) at the official level supports the war against Ukraine, in particular, the seizure of its territories, the killing of civilians and children, and also "blesses" the crimes of russian soldiers and representatives of the special services.
• Ukraine is a country of interreligious and interethnic harmony. Freedom of religion is protected by law in the country. This law is not about banning any of the religious organizations of Ukraine, but about a categorical demand for them to sever ties with the russian Orthodox Church. It will take 9 months from the date of entry into force to fulfill this requirement.
• Draft Law No. 8371 has a broad public consensus, supported by the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches (currently has 17 members of various denominations), Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, unanimously approved by the Humanitarian and Information Policy Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Why was it necessary to adopt this Law?
The fact is that despite the full-scale invasion of russia, about 8,000 churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) continue to function in Ukraine. Metropolitan Onufriy of the UOC MP and more than 20 clergymen have russian citizenship, so they were deprived of Ukrainian citizenship by a separate law. At least 7 criminal proceedings against clerics of the pro-russian UOC MP were opened by the beginning of 2024 (https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/sbu-vs-russian-church). Five of them are through collaborative activities. Due to encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and propaganda of war, one case was opened. As you can see, this is a small number to draw conclusions about mass suppression of religious figures. In most cases, the investigation continues or the priests are offered a settlement agreement for cooperation with the investigation and for refusing to cooperate with the aggressor.
In other words, a large number of UOC MP priests turned out to be ordinary agents of the kremlin and propagandists of "russian peace". During searches of their churches, law enforcement officers found and continue to find russian propaganda literature, instructions for the war period. Some of the priests coordinated the activities of russian agents in Ukraine, passed on secret information about the defense forces to the enemy. In addition, there is a direct financial dependence of the UOC MP on the ROC, the organization promotes illegal financial transactions.
According to the latest polls, 82% of Ukrainians do not trust the UOC MP, and 63% are in favor of a complete ban on this religious organization: https://detector.media/infospace/article/226485/2024-05-07-bilsh-nizh-60- opytanykh-ukraintsiv-pidtrymuyut-zaboronu-upts-mp-doslidzhennya-kmis/
Read something about the peculiarities of the russian Orthodox Church here: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-mobilises-the-church-for-war-for-africa/
According to the materials of Spravdi.ua