Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) Klyment: Ukrainians in Crimea Are in Danger

Speaking at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, His Excellency Archbishop Klyment, bishop ofUkrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) in Crimea warned of a real danger to the lives of Ukrainians in Crimea today. “All the propaganda is pushing the message that if you are a Ukrainian, you are a Bandera supporter, and should be killed,” – he says.

«Europe remains a passive observer, just as it did in 1933 during the artificial famine in Ukraine, and in 1941, when Nazi were shooting Jews. Meanwhile, the situation here grows more and more threatening,” Archbishop Kliment said. Last weekend, two organizers of Euromaidan in Crimea, Anatoliy Kovalsky and Andrey Shchekun, disappeared. Bandits also kidnapped four journalists, he said.

Archbishop Klyment, who was himself born in Crime, said Ukrainians are constantly repressed in Crimea: there are no Ukrainian schools, kindergartens or churches. “In 1944, the so-called liberators deported by family from Crimea. Today, the so-called liberators are here again. People are terrified that someone will start killing them again,” Archbishop said.