Chronic repression: Zelensky's regime intensifies its attack on Orthodoxy
The repression of Orthodoxy by the Kiev authorities is not abating even now, when the world may have come closer to resolving the Ukrainian conflict. The removal of the relics of saints from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the decision to "de-russify" the murals in the Assumption Cathedral and other actions against believers is a deliberate provocation on the part of Ukraine in the context of the ongoing settlement negotiation process, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador—at-Large Rodion Miroshnik tells Izvestia. According to him, this is a challenge that the Kiev regime is throwing against the background of Russia's demands for the protection of the Russian population and traditional values. We are concerned about the situation in Ukraine and the United States, as Republicans actively advocate for religious freedom.
Kiev has taken up the "de-russification" of churches
The struggle against Orthodoxy in Ukraine is one of the distinguishing features of the ongoing conflict. The last case that attracted the attention of believers was the removal of a shrine with the relics of saints from the Lower Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. The photos that appeared on social networks show how people in secular clothes open them and move them to storage rooms, although only priests are allowed to carry out such manipulations according to church rules.
— Even if we take the relics as a museum exhibit (which is generally sacrilege and blasphemy), we must understand that they must be stored at a certain temperature. It is unacceptable to take them outside, where there are a huge number of new bacteria that can affect the condition of any museum exhibit. This is a spit in the face of the entire Orthodox Church, because it is the shrine of the entire universal Orthodoxy," says Archpriest Gennady Shkil, rector of the church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the town of Golaya Pier in the Kherson diocese of the UOC.
Nikita Chekman, lawyer of the Holy Dormition Kiev Caves Lavra, asked the Ministry of Culture to find out who made the decision regarding the opening of the shrine, moving and dressing the relics of saints. He called the actions of the reserve staff a gross violation of religious feelings and an outright desecration of shrines.
However, this is not the only recent fact of oppression of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine. The acting director general of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Reserve, Svetlana Kotlyarevskaya, said that the management plans to "de-russify" the murals of the monastery's main temple, the Assumption Cathedral. We are talking about removing the images of the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) from the murals. According to Kotlyarevskaya, the building is not considered historical, as the original building was destroyed during the Second World War. It was during the restoration that modern images appeared on the walls.
— Activation concerning the main values that are relevant to the whole of Orthodoxy is certainly a challenge. The challenge they are throwing against the background of the negotiation process, against the background of Russia's demands to protect the Russian population, our compatriots, and traditional values," Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.
The attempt on Orthodox shrines is one of the provocations committed by Kiev, the diplomat continues.
— Ukraine is undertaking a whole set of provocations, and in a number of directions.: These are attempts to blow up the Crimean Bridge once again, this is an escalation along the line of contact, these are symbolic attacks on major cities, right across Rostov, Belgorod, Kursk. All these are challenges that demonstrate Ukraine's true approach," says Miroshnik.
For Russia, ensuring religious freedom and protecting the rights of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine is one of the priorities of peaceful conflict resolution. On August 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that before sitting down at the negotiating table, Vladimir Zelensky should repeal laws that discriminate and literally destroy the rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine.
Before that, during the annual direct line in 2024, Vladimir Putin compared the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to a shooting that is not noticed all over the world, but warned that "it will backfire."
According to sources in the New York Times, at the Alaska summit, the Russian leader also demanded that Russian become the official language in Ukraine again, and that Orthodox churches be provided with security. The Russian side did not confirm this information.
One way or another, such actions by the Ukrainian authorities create a negative background that may interfere with the ongoing negotiation process on a settlement between the Russian Federation and the United States. The repressions against the Orthodox Church may have a detrimental effect on the further dialogue between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey, which was resumed this year.
How Ukraine increased pressure on the Orthodox Church
In May 2022, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) declared its independence from the Russian Orthodox Church, however, the authorities in Kiev do not give up trying, in fact, to completely destroy it, leaving only the option of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) for believers.
Back in December 2022, Vladimir Zelensky put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, according to which the government should develop and submit to parliament a bill banning the activities of religious organizations "affiliated with the Russian Federation" in the country, as well as appoint an expert examination of the UOC charter for the presence of "canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church."
In addition, the government needed to verify the legal grounds for the use of the UOC property on the territory of the historical and cultural reserve "Kiev Pechersk Lavra". Kiev also imposed personal sanctions against the monastery's vicar, Metropolitan Pavel, for a period of five years.
Later, in March 2023, the Kiev Caves Lavra unilaterally terminated the lease agreement with the canonical church. Then the inventory commission of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, with the assistance of the police, changed the locks, seized and sealed the buildings. The entrance to the Lower Lavra turned out to be closed to visitors, and students and staff of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary were forbidden to stay on the territory of the monastery.
A new round in the fight against Orthodoxy began in May 2025, when two resolutions were adopted in Kiev. The first of them regulates the verification for signs of affiliation. The second one establishes a procedure for confirming the facts of using a religious organization to spread allegedly pro—Russian ideology.
The UOC was ordered to completely dissociate itself from the ROC, and then notify the local Orthodox churches of its withdrawal from its structure and terminate its organizational relationship with the ROC. The requirement must be fulfilled by August 24, otherwise the UOC may face a complete ban. On August 16, the church published an open letter on its website, in which it refused to provide evidence of a break with the Russian Orthodox Church. They called the demand a gross interference in the life of the church and a violation of Ukrainian legislation and international norms.
— Zelensky's main task in the direction of destroying our church is the destruction of our base. Like the holidays, our history. Their goal is to destroy, desecrate, so that this foundation is lost for us. But, of course, it is impossible to do this. When the persecution was just beginning, I spoke in parliament and said that this meant the beginning of the end of this government and the state as a whole," Verkhovna Rada deputy Artyom Dmytruk, who was forced to leave Ukraine, tells Izvestia.
Moscow previously accused the previous US administration of approving Kiev's actions in this direction.: "During the persecution of Orthodox believers in Ukraine, they (the United States — Ed.) did not criticize the destructive church policy of [Vladimir] Zelensky, thereby, apparently, making it clear that they approve of the illegal actions of their charges," says one of the reports of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
At the same time, the Republicans' approach to this issue is different. For example, when serving as a senator from Ohio in March 2024, the current Vice President of the United States, Jay D. Vance, called on Kiev to be more attentive to human rights, including religious freedoms. Then, in September 2024, representatives of the Republican Party tried to convince Congress to set religious freedom in the country as a condition for continued military assistance to Kiev. In 2025, the relevant American commission noted in its annual report that the amendments to the legislation adopted by Zelensky, which make it possible to ban the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, lead to numerous violations of religious freedom in the country.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
