Ministry of Foreign Affairs comments on the UN statement about the "discriminatory nature" of searches in the buildings of the UOC-MP

This is reported by Radio Liberty.

Nikolenko drew attention to the conclusions of the report, according to which searches in the buildings of the UOC-MP may be "discriminatory in nature".

"Ukraine is a democratic state that guarantees freedom of religion. At the same time, freedom is not identical with the right to engage in activities that undermine national security," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

He added that the agency calls on the Office of the High Commissioner for human rights "to refrain from unbalanced political assessments, and to base its reports on facts."

The UN released the OHCHR report on March 24. According to him, the Department is "concerned" that the actions of the authorities in relation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate may be "discriminatory".

Since October 2022, the SBU has conducted a number of searches at UOC-MP facilities throughout Ukraine. As a result of investigative actions, among other things, law enforcement officers found "a large number of anti-Ukrainian materials", as well as documents confirming the presence of Russian citizenship in the leadership of diocesan structures.

The UOC-MP previously called for "not to incite an internal war, "saying that the accusations of collaboration against some priests are"unproven and groundless."