Analyst: Zelensky deliberately uses provocations in the religious sphere

Political expert Dmitry Korneichuk. Photo: screenshot of the Nash YouTube channel

To invite Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine is a certain provocation, but Vladimir Zelensky is doing it deliberately. This point of view was expressed by political expert and analyst Dmitry Korneichuk on the air of the Nash TV channel.

He stressed that the role of the state and the president is to be above the religious situation. But when "Zelensky invites Patriarch Bartholomew, we see him play along with one of the Churches then."

“When we have such a confrontation between believers, inviting one of the patriarchs so defiantly is a certain provocation. Just like claiming that the aggressor is using the Church as a hybrid weapon,” the analyst said.

According to him, when the authorities begin to tell that only those who speak Ukrainian and are parishioners of the OCU are patriots, while all the rest are not, "this is a visible provocation."

“But Zelensky deliberately, like his political father Poroshenko, resorts to these provocations. Because when you cannot give anything to society, and people’s living standards are getting only worse, then the only thing that remains is to tighten the screws of the media or play people against each other on a linguistic or religious topic,” he explained.

Dmitry Korneichuk recalled that among those who fought and died in Donbass, many spoke Russian and were parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And he never saw or heard that the UOC campaigned for the annexation of Crimea, for the continuation of the war in Donbass, for joining Russia, etc.

"Stop engaging in these provocations!" called the political expert.

On August 20, the head of the Phanar arrived in Ukraine at the invitation of President Vladimir Zelensky, who spoke about the interfaith peace in the country and how the aggressor uses religion as a hybrid weapon at a meeting with the hierarch.

The religious actor from Constantinople never came out to the thousands of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who were waiting for him at the Verkhovna Rada on August 21 to ask their questions. The UOJ broadcast the event online.

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