Amsterdam: Ukraine is a risky investment due to religious repression

Robert Amsterdam. Photo: theglobeandmail.com

On July 10, 2025, international lawyer Robert Amsterdam made a high-profile statement on the social network X (Twitter). He warned Western investors against putting money into a country that, in his words, is blatantly violating fundamental principles of the rule of law and freedom of religion.

Amsterdam, who represents the interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), emphasized: “Investors gathering in Rome to pledge support for Ukraine’s recovery will confront a hard truth."

He described the Ukrainian government’s policy as follows: “The Ukrainian government is undermining rule of law through politically driven sanctions, asset seizures and repression of religious institutions.”

His statement came during the International Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, attended by representatives of Western governments, international donor organizations, banks, funds, and private investors, who were discussing directions for financial and institutional support for Ukraine. Robert Amsterdam drew these participants’ attention to systemic human rights violations and abuses against believers in the country, stressing that such policies by the Ukrainian authorities make any investment in Ukraine unsafe and morally questionable.

It is worth recalling that on July 8, 2025, Amsterdam had already delivered harsh criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky. At that time, he issued a press release condemning the revocation of the citizenship of His Beatitude Onuphry, Primate of the UOC. He called the Ukrainian president’s actions a gross violation of international law and part of a broad campaign to eliminate the UOC and forcibly subordinate all Orthodoxy in the country to a single, politically loyal structure.

The lawyer stressed that Metropolitan Onuphry had served the Ukrainian people with honor, never held any other citizenship, and never wavered in his loyalty to Ukraine. In Amsterdam’s view, the authorities are seeking to suppress the UOC as a spiritual and independent force in Ukrainian society, and their actions amount to “hate speech” that demands a response from the international community.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Volodymyr Zelensky had stripped His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, Primate of the UOC, of his citizenship.

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