Austrian think tank reports on Zelensky’s persecution of UOC

Zelensky in the Verkhovna Rada. Photo: abcps.eu/Analytics

The Austrian analytical center ABC Political Studies has published an article on the political situation in Ukraine, highlighting the ongoing persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the government.

“The UOC is a vast organisation, which, even after a decade of persecution by the authorities, still numbers millions of believers – both in Ukraine and abroad. Zelenskyy deprived the Primate of the Church, Metropolitan Onufriy, of Ukrainian citizenship, and imposed sanctions and criminal cases against Vadym Novynskyi. Many hierarchs and priests have ended up in prison. Even the intervention of US Vice President J. D. Vance did not help,” the analysts state.

They also noted that in 2019, nearly 95% of UOC believers voted for Zelensky, viewing him as an alternative to Poroshenko.

As previously reported, an OSCE expert stated that the Ukrainian government’s “directives” to the UOC have essentially become a form of repression.

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