DESS to monitor “Russian World” propaganda in religious organizations

Meeting of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS). Photo: DESS

On October 13, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, by Resolution No. 1279, updated the Statute of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), reports Judicial-Legal Gazette.

According to the amendments, DESS is authorized to examine and confirm instances of religious organizations being used to promote the ideology of the “Russian world”, as well as to conduct research into the affiliation of Ukrainian religious organizations with foreign religious bodies whose activities are banned in Ukraine. Based on these inspections, the Service will have the authority to issue mandatory orders requiring the elimination of identified violations.

In addition, the DESS has been granted the right to individually approve any relations, contacts, or communications with foreign religious organizations whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine. The scope of religious studies expertise will be expanded with the participation of community representatives and scholars, alongside consultations with national minority associations regarding the implementation of their rights.

The government has also established the procedure for issuing and appealing DESS acts as administrative decisions: orders are to be issued, enforced, and contested under the provisions of the Law “On Administrative Procedure.”

It should be recalled that in May 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the procedure for verifying “Russian world” propaganda and a list of its defining characteristics.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the DESS and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) discussed the law banning the UOC and the mobilization of clergy.

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