Drabinko: I understand draft evaders when the state violates Constitution

Oleksandr Drabinko. Photo: velychlviv.com

Oleksandr Drabinko, the former Metropolitan of the UOC who joined the OCU, stated in his interview with Telegraf that he cannot give a definite answer to whether dodging military duty is a sin.

"We live in our state, we must defend it, but the state must also defend our constitutional rights, duties and interests. Unfortunately, we have Ukraine as our native mother, we have a territory that we love, but the state as an institution often does not fulfil its constitutional duties to citizens. Sometimes through this prism, one can understand the draft evaders, but the duty of every citizen of Ukraine is to defend both their family and their (I won't say state) native land," said "Metropolitan" Oleksandr.

At the same time, he emphasized that often the state serves the interests of oligarchs and political clans.

"Therefore, it is necessary to defend the state as a territory and as mother-Ukraine, but as an institution and someone's personal interests that they themselves do not want to defend and send others there – this is a very difficult question," he concluded.

As reported, the OCU "hierarch" Oleksandr Drabinko stated that the UOC ban will not entail the mass transition of UOC communities to the OCU.

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