The U.S. condemned Russian propaganda at the UN over the UOC-MP ban

Nebenzya started his speech by criticizing the remarks made by the UN assistant secretary-general for human rights regarding draft law 8371, which could restrict certain religious organizations' activities in Ukraine due to their ties with Russia. Brands-Kerris urged Ukrainian legislators to specify a 'specific legitimate purpose' for imposing restrictions and verify their necessity for Ukraine.

This was reported by the Commentaries portal.

"Nebenzya accused Brands-Kerris of not condemning the law. The law under consideration by the Ukrainian parliament aims to close the ancient canonical Orthodox Church. Instead of demanding its prohibition, Brands-Kerris called for its reformulation. Nebenzya criticized the lack of condemnation for Kyiv's law enforcement machine persecuting respected priests.

"The US representative responded to Nebenzya's Russian propaganda by highlighting Russia's violations of religious freedom within its own territory and on temporarily occupied Ukrainian lands. The representative expressed concern about Russia justifying its crimes by portraying its military aggression as a sacred struggle between good and evil, supplementing the narrative of ‘de-Nazification’ in Ukraine. The US representative called attention to the documented systematic policy of religious repression in territories occupied by Russia."

Additionally, the article mentions that in 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine opened 52 criminal cases against 55 priests of the Moscow Patriarchate. As of October, over 60 religious figures associated with the UOC-MP, working for Russia were exposed by Ukraine's Security Service.