Russia won't abandon Ukraine's Orthodox believers
Russia will not abandon Orthodox believers in Ukraine in the face of ongoing religious persecution by the authorities in Kiev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has promised.
Speaking at a Russian Foreign Ministry reception on Tuesday dedicated to Orthodox Easter, Lavrov condemned Kiev for cracking down on believers in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), calling it proof of the Ukrainian authorities' 'human-hating essence.'
'The authorities in Kiev have brought [the UOC] to the brink of legal liquidation… Churches continue to be seized, vandalized, and attacked, along with priests and parishioners,' Lavrov alleged. He pointed in particular to Ukraine's attempts to wrestle control over the iconic Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the country's oldest monastery.
'These acts are being carried out with the connivance and even support of many European countries, where the ghosts of neo-Nazism and Satanism are again lifting their heads,' the diplomat stated.
'Russia will not leave the Orthodox people of Ukraine in trouble,' Lavrov stressed, adding that Moscow 'will ensure that their lawful rights are respected' and that canonical Orthodoxy regains its central place in Ukraine's spiritual life.
Ukraine has accused the UOC of maintaining ties to Russia despite the church declaring independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022. The crackdown has included numerous arrests of clergymen and church raids, one of the most notorious of which took place in the catacombs of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra where holy relics are kept.
Last year, Zelensky also signed legislation allowing the state to ban religious organizations affiliated with governments Kiev deems 'aggressors,' effectively targeting the UOC. The Ukrainian leader has defended the measures, claiming they are necessary to protect the country's 'spiritual independence' amid the conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile, Kiev has openly supported the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which is regarded as schismatic by both the UOC and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The UN has also voiced concern about the state of religious freedoms in Ukraine, particularly regarding legislation allowing Kiev to target different institutions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Russian military retaliated to Kiev's ‘terrorist acts'
The Russian military has said its forces carried out large-scale overnight strikes against Ukrainian defense industry sites, using drones and long-range precision-guided weapons. Ukrainian officials also reported waves of missile and drone attacks across multiple cities, including the capital Kiev, as well as Lviv and Lutsk on Friday morning. The barrage, which included air-, sea-, and land-based missiles as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), was a response to recent 'terrorist acts' carried out by Kiev, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday. Ukraine blew up railway bridges in Russia last week, derailing civilian and freight trains and killing at least seven and injuring over 120. Kiev also launched a coordinated drone strike on multiple Russian airbases, targeting long-range, nuclear-capable bombers stationed in Russia's north and far east. Moscow has claimed that most drones were intercepted and the aircraft targeted was damaged by not destroyed. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
Ukraine using terror tactics to disrupt peace talks
Ukraine is using terrorist tactics at a state level to derail peace negotiations with Moscow, senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik has told RT. Recent acts of railway sabotage in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions have damaged passenger and freight trains, killing seven people and injuring 113. Russia's Investigative Committee has called the incidents 'terrorist attacks' planned by Ukraine to inflict maximum civilian harm. The attacks were carried out the day before the second round of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on Monday. Miroshnik, an ambassador-at-large for the Russian Foreign Ministry, who is tasked with investigating the Ukrainian military's alleged war crimes, said in an interview on Wednesday that Kiev was orchestrating a series of violent acts aimed at undermining peace talks with Moscow, which are being facilitated by both the US and Russia. 'Ukraine is using terrorist tools that are banned by international law at the level of the state,' he said. He added that Ukraine fundamentally opposes the establishment of dialogue with Russia, and that 'the terrorist actions taken by Kiev are specifically directed at disrupting such efforts.' According to the Russian diplomat, the latest attacks were timed to precede the negotiations in Istanbul. 'A whole series of terrorist acts was carried out in order to force Russia to withdraw from the negotiation process,' he stated, adding that the efforts would not succeed. 'Kiev will not be able to sabotage the talks this way because military operations and negotiations will be kept separate,' Miroshnik said. He warned that those responsible for the attacks would be punished. 'There will be no forgiveness or silence in response to this. Ukraine has failed to push Russia away from negotiations through covert pressure,' he stated. While the US is attempting the role of arbiter and is showing a willingness to search for a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict, EU countries and the UK are openly seeking to continue the fighting, the diplomat claimed. He referred to reports suggesting that the US administration had not been informed of the Ukrainian attacks. However, Miroshnik argued the incidents were carried out in coordination with European intelligence services, and that 'Ukraine could not have organized such actions alone.' Earlier this week, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, stated that the explosives used to blow up two railway bridges in Russia were foreign-made. Ukraine has ramped up drone raids and other attacks on Russian territory, including a UAV strike on several Russian airbases on Sunday, in a coordinated assault across five regions, from Murmansk in the Arctic to Irkutsk in Siberia. Moscow has repeatedly condemned Ukraine's continued acts of sabotage on Russian territory, claiming that they undermine ongoing efforts to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russian food aid to Africa ‘extremely important'
Russian food aid to Africa is arriving at a critical moment, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said. Speaking to TASS on Thursday, Tom Fletcher emphasized that Russian assistance is particularly crucial in regions at risk of starvation, describing it as both 'extremely important' and 'very timely.' 'It is a sign of the Russian government's generosity and willingness to participate in such programs,' he added. At the same time, Fletcher noted that growing needs across Africa mean much more remains to be done. He recounted his recent visit to Sudan, including the conflict-ravaged region of Darfur, where he met people who he said were 'quite literally on the brink of starvation.' He called for enhanced cooperation among international agencies and urged greater collective generosity to meet urgent needs on the ground. Fletcher met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday to discuss a number of issues, including 'the functioning of OCHA and the United Nations' global humanitarian response system,' the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. The same day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin held talks with Ramtane Lamamra, the UN secretary-general's personal envoy for Sudan. According to the ministry's press service, the two officials reviewed ways to de-escalate the prolonged armed conflict in the country and emphasized the need for an urgent ceasefire. An armed group attacked a convoy jointly operated by the World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF near Al Fashir in North Darfur on Monday evening. At least five Sudanese contractors employed by UN agencies were killed, while several others sustained injuries. Multiple trucks were torched, and vital humanitarian supplies were damaged. Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by fierce fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), with both factions vying for control amid a stalled transition to civilian rule. According to Reuters, citing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 4 million people have fled Sudan since the outbreak of the war.
