Congresswoman: Zelensky waging war against his people over faith
An American legislator stated that Zelensky's policies have led to the persecution of believers and promised to respond to forceful actions against UOC parishes.
On January 8, 2026, U.S. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna stated in an exclusive comment for the UOJ that Volodymyr Zelensky is waging a war against his own people because of their faith and promised to take action against the forced seizures of UOC temples, reports the UOJ in the USA.
The statement was prompted by a video appeal from UOC believers from the village of Kuzmyn in the Khmelnytskyi region, which Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna published on her social network X. In the appeal, parishioners asked for her intervention as their parish faces the possibility of a forced transfer to the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). She added that the local authorities move to seize the community's church, "a church built by their parents and grandparents".
"I was deeply moved and disheartened by the appeal of Ukrainian Christians from the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the village of Kuzmyn, Ukraine. Zelensky has chosen to wage war on his own people for their faith," stated the congresswoman.
Luna also emphasized that the illegal seizures of UOC temples must be stopped. She also tagged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. State Department on the post.
In turn, UOC believers told Anna Paulina Luna that on December 21, 2025, outsiders organized a fake meeting and voted to transfer the community to the OCU. "We are ordinary, law-abiding Ukrainians who have no one left to turn to for protection. We humbly ask you to hear us and do everything possible so that our church is not taken away from us, into which we have put our souls," the parishioners' appeal states.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Anna Paulina Luna stated that state repression against freedom of religion in Ukraine requires a response from the USA.
