OCU Metropolitan: UN turns a blind eye to the crimes Moscow religious structure commits in Crimea

Metropolitan Klyment (Kushch) of Simferopol and Crimea of the OCU stated this during a press conference, “Freedom of Conscience in Ukraine: Its Enemies and Defenders” in Ukrinform, Voice of Crimea reports.
“Once again, we draw attention to the fact that the UN in Ukraine does not pay due attention to the situation of religious organizations in the occupied Crimea, especially the OCU, which has suffered the greatest oppression from the occupying Russian authorities. This led to the suspension of the Crimean Diocese in 2023. In accordance with the stated points in the field of religion, no report can be formed without taking into account the situation in the field of religion in the occupied territories of Ukraine, including the occupied Crimea,” Metropolitan Klyment emphasized.
He added that the inclusion of only a separate paragraph on the status of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and their affiliated structures as such reflects the bias in the report. According to him, statements about the restriction of freedom of religion are turning a blind eye to the crimes committed by the UOC-MP as a Russian paramilitary structure in the TOT.
“This means turning a blind eye to all the crimes committed by this Moscow-based religious structure, in particular in the occupied Crimea. From the very first days of the occupation, they, with the support of Russian paramilitary security forces, took away our Orthodox churches. Then, together with the so-called occupation administrations, they seized our churches ... To write such a report means not to understand the entire analytical content, especially during the Russian-Ukrainian war, not to understand the religious sphere of life today and not to think about the future of interfaith dialogue,” the hierarch of the OCU said.
The Crimean Diocese of the OCU appeals to representatives of the UN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the need for the Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea of the OCU to speak at the UN.