Amsterdam: Stripping UOC Primate of citizenship – Zelensky's act of repression

Robert Amsterdam. Photo: lb.ua

On July 8, 2025, international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, representing the interests of the UOC, published a press release condemning the actions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in stripping the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, of citizenship.

"This act by President Volodymyr Zelensky represents a grave violation of both national and international legal norms, and marks a dangerous turning point in the Ukrainian government's campaign against the UOC," the statement said.

The lawyer emphasized that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church completely denies the allegation that Metropolitan Onuphry holds Russian citizenship, or any citizenship other than Ukrainian. According to them, the SBU has not presented any evidence to support this claims.

Robert Amsterdam emphasizes: "Metropolitan Onuphry has honourably served the Ukrainian people as a spiritual leader and has never wavered in his commitment to Ukraine or its war effort against Russia. It is precisely because of this commitment that under his leadership, the UOC, which had already been self-governing since the breakup of the Soviet Union, severed all administrative ties to the Russian Orthodox Church."

"This latest action is part of an ongoing effort by the Ukrainian government to dismantle the UOC, using baseless allegations of ties to Russia in order to suppress any independent religious institutions and elevate the state-affiliated Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) as the sole Orthodox body in the country," noted lawyer Amsterdam.

The lawyer also pointed out that the revocation of Metropolitan Onuphry’s citizenship has now rendered him stateless, in clear violation of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. According to Amsterdam, this has become a hallmark of President Zelensky’s broader strategy for silencing political opposition.

Robert Amsterdam will be engaging at the highest levels with relevant stakeholders, including in the United States, Europe and international institutions to coordinate a firm and principled response.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Zelensky stripped His Beatitude Onuphry of citizenship.

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