PO to "Trump’s spiritual advisor”: Bucha killings were blessed by ROC head

Yermak, Burns, and Jewish representatives. Photo: Presidential Office website

On March 31, 2025, American pastor Mark Burns, whom Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman referred to as “Trump’s personal spiritual advisor,” met with Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak. The meeting was also attended by Yermak’s deputies Iryna Vereshchuk and Ihor Brusylo, presidential advisor Daria Zarivna, and Moshe Azman accompanied by other Jewish representatives.

Yermak briefed Burns on the results of negotiations between Ukrainian and American delegations in Jeddah and Riyadh, and assured him of Ukraine’s respect for Donald Trump.

Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Brusylov emphasized that Burns’ visit to the OCU’s St. Andrew’s Church in Bucha was “deeply symbolic,” since “it became the site of a mass killing of civilians by Russian occupiers.” Brusylov did not specify when or under what circumstances the killings allegedly took place at the church.

“These murders were blessed by the Patriarch of Moscow himself. Can you imagine one Christian blessing the murder of other Christians? This is Putin’s church, which is a million miles away from Christianity, from true Orthodoxy,” stated Brusylov.

Burns assured the Ukrainian side that he would “inform President Trump about everything he sees in Ukraine.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Ukrainian officials assured “Trump’s spiritual advisor” of religious freedom in the country.

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