MP Inna Sovsun noted that the next step in the fight against the Russian Federation, after the visa regime was implemented, should be the ban of the Russian Church, that is, the UOC-MP. However, the Ukrainian government called attempts to ban the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine "unfounded".
The MP wrote about this on her Facebook page, Bukvy reports.
Inna Sovsun noted that when in early February she submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a resolution on the abolition of the visa-free regime with Russia, some considered it a radical step.
"Let's not repeat a similar mistake with the Russian Orthodox Church and not wait another 5 months,” the MP stressed.
Inna Sovsun said that she received a response to her request regarding the termination of the lease agreement for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Pochaev Holy Assumption Lavra and the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra with the UOC-MP, which, as Sovsun noted, Ukraine provided free of charge and for an indefinite time.
However, the Cabinet of Ministers responded that unilateral termination of the lease agreement is possible only in case of misuse of property or maintenance in improper condition after a warning.
The response of the Cabinet of ministers also alleges that attempts to ban the UOC-MP are unfounded, “There is no evidence that these ministers of the cult committed criminal or administrative offenses, that is, court sentences, decisions on recovery, etc.”
But even if there was evidence, first it would be necessary to prove that specific representatives of the UOC-MP are connected with the organization's activities.
“The government also believes that it is impossible to discriminate against religious organizations whose center is located in the aggressor state. And the monasteries (lavras) respectively, cannot be returned to state ownership either,” Sovsun added.
Inna Sovsun said that she had foreseen such a response to her request, so she also asked to further ban the transfer of churches in favor of the UOC-MP. However, even in the future, it is impossible to ban the transfer of Ukrainian churches to the UOC-MP, the Cabinet stressed.
Inna Sovsun summed up that the Cabinet of Ministers should have made changes to those bills that prevent it from banning the activities of the UOC-MP in Ukraine.
"The threat to national security requires prompt and decisive action, and this is one of those cases when the spirit of the law should be more important than its letter. While we are playing “the legislation does not for” game — our defenders sacrifice their lives. And we put them at even greater risk by not doing anything to stop the enemy in the rear,” the MP wrote.