Lawmakers blocked the rostrum in the Verkhovna Rada session hall, demanding that a bill that would ban religious organizations with a decision-making center located in Moscow be put to a vote.
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine.
MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said all further parliament meetings had been cancelled. According to schedule, the next time the legislators will gather only in August.
The draft law on banning religious organizations, whose decision-making center is located in the aggressor state passed its first reading back in October 2023. The UOC (in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate) opposes the bill, at the same time claiming it has already severed ties with Moscow.
Earlier, the Spiritual Front of Ukraine wrote, citing sources, that some OCU bishops were reaching out to lawmakers, lobbying the said bill. Members of parliament, eferring to the distortion of the original idea laid down in the draft, claim that its text amended ahead of second reading would not solve the problem, only undermining relations with Ukraine’s international partners. In addition, they point out that the opposition exploits the religious issue exclusively to achieve its own political goals, neglecting the national interests.
