The Verkhovna Rada adopted as a whole the government’s Draft law 8173 on the prohibition of the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine, which have a decision-making center in a state that wages armed aggression against Ukraine. According to experts, the UOC (MP) may fall under this definition due to its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate.
A total of 265 People’s Deputies voted to support the draft law, Glavcom reports.
The explanatory memo states that the draft law was designed to ban the activities of those religious organizations in Ukraine whose leadership is located in a country that is waging armed aggression against Ukraine.
Representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations issued a joint statement backing the legislation on August 17.
“We support the legislative initiative of the President of Ukraine to disable the activities of such organizations in our country, which also has broad political and public support,” the statement read.
