Selenskyj versicherte, dass die UPTs von Vertretern des KGB kontrolliert wird.
Der Präsident erklärte, dass die Regierung keine Kirchen schließt.
In an interview with American journalist Ben Shapiro, filmed at the walls of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is controlled by the KGB, and that the Ukrainian authorities do not close any churches.
Commenting on the journalist's assertion that there are accusations against the Ukrainian authorities in the West "of religious freedom repression, especially concerning the Russian Orthodox Church," Zelensky stated that "the issue is not with the Moscow church itself, but with the fact that in Russia the Moscow Patriarchate is effectively another division of the special services."
"The problem arose when their (Russian – Ed.) special services began to control churches in Ukraine. It is wrong for the church to be under control, and Moscow should not control our church. Their KGB, their intelligence services cannot control or manage the Ukrainian church – they simply should not be here," Zelensky stated.
At the same time, he did not provide any facts or evidence that there are any connections between the UOC and the Russian authorities, or, even more so, "management."
According to him, "legislative changes in Ukraine are related to the fact that there can be no connection between Moscow and the Ukrainian church."
"No one has closed anything, but we cannot allow Russian special services to control the church in Ukraine. Everyone is against such legal connections. It is not only about connections at the intelligence level, but also about legal connections that have existed for many years. This should not be," Zelensky stated, without clarifying what he meant by "connections at the intelligence level," as well as "legal connections."
Moreover, the President mentioned that he regularly holds meetings with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO), assuring that representatives of all denominations without exception are invited: "We always invite everyone, it is important." At the same time, at the recent meetings of the AUCCRO with Zelensky, representatives of the UOC were absent.
"As for the alleged pressure on religious organizations – it simply does not exist. You will not find any evidence of such pressure, as we do not conduct any behind-the-scenes negotiations with religious institutions or their leaders," Zelensky assured.
Let us remind that earlier Zelensky assured in the USA that he is doing everything to protect religious freedom.
