Verification of the possible connection of the canonical UOC with the Russian Orthodox Church has begun in Ukraine.

The Canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is being checked for possible links with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which could lead to the UOC being banned in the country. This was announced on May 26 by Viktor Yelensky, head of the Ukrainian State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience.

"Our service has begun a study on the presence or absence of affiliation with a religious organization banned in Ukraine, that is, with the Russian Orthodox Church <...> I have issued an order that we are starting a study on the presence or absence of affiliation," the Ukrainian newspaper Levy Bereg quoted him as saying.

Yelensky added that the activities of the UOC may be prohibited if the examination proves the alleged connection of the canonical church with the Russian Orthodox Church.

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How does the international community react and where are churches most often seized?

On April 24, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about the restrictions imposed by Kiev on the Russian Orthodox Church and the UOC. The organization also called on Kiev to take into account international norms and guarantee freedom of religion for all faiths without exception.