Zelensky: We are fighting so Putin cannot dictate which Church must disappear

Zelensky speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast. Photo: Office of the President

On August 23, 2026, Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast was held at the Mystetskyi Arsenal in Kyiv to mark National Flag Day. Addressing the gathering, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was fighting Russia so that Putin could not decide which Church must disappear.

“Throughout this time, Russia has been pursuing several objectives. One of them is to make faith a matter of permission – to have Putin decide who may gather for prayer and who may not, which Church may exist and which must disappear,” Zelensky said.

He insisted that “this is also part of what our entire struggle is about – the right of every person to speak with God, to speak with the Almighty as they wish and wherever they wish.”

The president did not explain why, in this context, the state is seeking to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

According to him, disagreements among representatives of Ukraine’s various faiths do not matter “when it comes to what is most important – truth, peace and the way prayer unites us all in times of hardship.”

Zelensky thanked “all our clergy who have stood shoulder to shoulder with the state during the war.”

“Parishes have become warming centers, church basements have become shelters, and Sunday schools have become classrooms for our Ukrainian children. This is not often mentioned in the news, but this is precisely the power of faith – a power that helps people, that helps all of us, all Ukrainians,” he said.

The UOJ previously reported that, according to Zelensky, the Bolsheviks had closed churches in Ukraine and turned them into offices.

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