The Parliament proposes to recognize the military clergy of the ROC under the Russian Armed Forces as an international criminal organization
According to Interfax-Ukraine, the corresponding draft resolution No. 9104, "on recognizing the military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and other paramilitary formations as an international criminal organization," was registered in the Ukrainian parliament on Monday, as reported on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
The conciliatory note to the draft resolution notes that the basis for recognizing the military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church as an international criminal organization is the illegal nature of its activities on the territory of Ukraine.
The draft resolution argues that since 2014, military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church have been involved in the armed aggression against Ukraine as accomplices to the occupation of Ukrainian territories and war crimes against Ukrainian civilians. This involvement has been in collaboration with the Russian regular army, private military companies, and other paramilitary formations. Additionally, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has openly supported Russia's military aggression and blessed the Russian military for the war in Ukraine, calling into question Ukraine's independence as a state. Military chaplains following this ideology have been engaged in propaganda activities among the Russian military and occupied territories outside Ukrainian control, spreading calls to kill Ukrainians and seize Ukrainian territories. The draft resolution further emphasizes the need to recognize the military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and other paramilitary formations as an international criminal organization due to their illegal activities on Ukrainian territory.
The proposed draft resolution also includes a call from the Verkhovna Rada to governments and parliaments of countries worldwide to recognize the military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church as a criminal organization. Moreover, the draft resolution urges the Prosecutor General's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to document all cases of criminal activity committed on Ukrainian territory by the military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in collaboration with the Russian army. It also mandates a thorough pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses committed by individuals suspected of these crimes on Ukrainian territory and the prompt transfer of relevant materials to the court according to the procedure established by law, to ensure high-quality and efficient implementation.
The proposed resolution further recommends that the Office of the Prosecutor General strengthen collaboration with the International Criminal Court in order to investigate and hold accountable the military clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church serving in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and other paramilitary formations for committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide.
