240 Votes in the Verkhovna Rada in favor of banning the Moscow Patriarchate - Members of Parliament

This was reported by Ukrinform.

"We already have 240 votes... I spoke with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada right after registering the bill to ban the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, and I told him: if he passes this decision, he will go down in history. He said it was impossible because there weren't enough votes. A year has passed, the situation has changed, and the Speaker is ready to support those signatures," Savchuk stated.

The presence of votes in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to support the bill to ban the Moscow Patriarchate was also confirmed by Ukrainian Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, ‘Mykyta Poturaev.

"I hope that the 'Servant of the People' faction will provide 170 votes for the government bill (to ban the Moscow Patriarchate). My colleagues say there might be more. We need 226 votes in the hall, or better yet, 235-240 votes... I believe we will vote for the government bill and improve it in the second reading," Poturaev mentioned.

He noted that there are two bills registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that address this issue. However, he added that the bill authored by Mykola Knyazhitsky is stricter.

Poturaev also added that such a bill has not been voted on in the Verkhovna Rada yet because there are people in parliament who are under the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the same time, according to the MP, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "firmly raised the issue twice, stating that it should be introduced to the Verkhovna Rada and voted on."

Additionally, in Ukraine, more than 80% of citizens support the prohibition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).