Verkhovna Rada's relevant committee recommends the adoption of Bill 8371

Meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the anti-church bill. Photo: VRU

The Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy recommends that the Verkhovna Rada adopt in its entirety the bill on the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine, No. 8371, reports the website of the Parliament of Ukraine.

It is reported that some provisions of the law were expanded for the second reading. In particular, the following wording was added to Article 3:

"Considering that the Russian Orthodox Church is an ideological extension of the regime of the aggressor state, an accomplice in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on behalf of the Russian Federation and the ideology of the 'Russian world,' the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine are prohibited," the document states.

Committee member MP Yevheniya Kravchuk stated that by practically quoting the PACE resolution in this paragraph, Ukrainian parliamentarians are thereby strengthening bill 8371 with international documents.

The committee recommends that the Verkhovna Rada adopt this bill in its entirety as law.

As the UOJ reported, the American lawyer for the UOC, Robert Amsterdam, called on the US authorities to influence their allies in Ukraine, who plan to adopt bill No. 8371 next week.

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