Zelensky calls Carlson's accusations of UOC persecution manipulative

V. Zelensky. Photo: Joel Rosenberg on TBN

In an interview with Israeli-American evangelical journalist Joel Rosenberg on the largest American Christian platform TBN, Volodymyr Zelensky assured that all accusations from the West regarding the persecution of UOC clergy and believers are "manipulations".

In particular, Rosenberg mentioned Tucker Carlson's programs, in which the American journalist accused Zelensky's government of closing churches and imprisoning priests.

In response, Zelensky assured that "more than 70% of people (in Ukraine - Ed.) are believers, and their faith, their aspirations, and their churches have never been restricted by anyone. On the contrary, the state has always supported them, and they are very free." He repeated the same regarding the UOC, which he calls the "Russian Church".

"As for the Russian Orthodox Church, first of all, no one  perhas persecuted anyone," he said, switching to the topic of Russia shelling Ukrainian churches.

"All these claims are manipulative. The fact is that Ukrainian legislation states that no religious organization or any organization can have legal ties with an aggressor country. And this is true. But it is absolutely normal during wartime not to have legal ties with the ROC. And this is not about persecution or closure of any paricular Church," Zelensky assured.

In response, Rosenberg thanked Zelensky for the clarification and stated that the words about the persecution of the UOC in Ukraine are a "terrible lie".

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

Read also