For a decade, the world has seen how Russia has scarred Ukraine’s landscape with tens of thousands of bombs and missiles. The spiritual wounds — and awakenings — experienced by millions of Ukrainians are less visible. Almost a third of Ukrainians say their religious faith has grown since the war broke
Controversial Ukrainian Member of Parliament Artem Dmytruk fled the country on Aug. 25 after being charged with assaulting a soldier as well as a law enforcement officer in separate altercations, the Prosecutor General's Office announced.
Pope Francis criticized on Aug. 25 Ukraine's move to potentially ban the activities of Russian-affiliated religious organizations amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, saying that "churches are not to be touched."
The legislation could effectively prohibit the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which is legally subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) charged in absentia a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in occupied Luhansk Oblast with collaborating with Russia's proxy authorities in the region.
Editor's note: The article was expanded with comments by religious scholar Oleksandr Brodetskyi. Ukraine's parliament passed on Aug. 20 a much-debated bill banning activities of religious organizations with ties to Russia, a country whose armies are currently occupying large swathes of Ukraine's land. The legislation – falsely spun by pro-Kremlin actors
The Ukrainian parliament on Aug. 20 passed a bill banning activities of religious organizations connected to Russia.
Speaking at the meeting of Ukraine's senior diplomats, President Vololdymyr Zelensky dubbed the new body "Ukrainian Unity and Countering Russian Influence on Ukrainians."
Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent is exclusively re-publishing an interview with Pavlo Smytsnyuk prepared by the Forum for Ukrainian Studies, a research publication for experts, practitioners, and academics to discuss, explore, reflect upon, develop, and transform international understanding of contemporary affairs in Ukraine. This platform is run by the Canadian
Lawmakers from several opposition parties – Holos (Voice), European Solidarity, and Batkivshchyna – blocked Ukraine's parliament rostrum on July 23 following the governing party's decision to not bring the bill on banning the Russian-linked church to the floor.
Former Deputy Prosecutor General Gyunduz Mamedov said, citing Metropolitan Klyment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Diocese in Crimea, that it was the last remaining OCU church in the occupied peninsula.
On May 5, Orthodox Easter in Ukraine, security measures will be intensified in Kyiv. Local authorities are urging residents to follow the service online rather than attending church due to security concerns.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is carrying out searches on May 1 at Metropolitan Luka (Andrii Kovalenko) of the Moscow-linked Ukrainian church, a source in law enforcement agencies confirmed for the Kyiv Independent on May 1.
Editor's Note: The Kyiv Independent is exclusively re-publishing an interview with Ihor Poshyvailo prepared by the Forum for Ukrainian Studies, a research publication for experts, practitioners, and academics to discuss, explore, reflect upon, develop, and transform international understanding of contemporary affairs in Ukraine. This platform is run by the Canadian
According to the investigation, Metropolitan Arsenii, who served in the Svyatohirsk Lavra in Donetsk Oblast, allegedly told parishioners the coordinates of Ukrainian military checkpoints in the Kramatorsk district in Donetsk Oblast during a liturgy.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out searches at the premises of Archpriest Mykola Danylevych, a senior member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), on the morning of April 12, sources in law enforcement agencies told the Kyiv Independent.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), presented a "revolutionary" order on March 27: “The Present and Future of the Russian World.” The order claims: “From a spiritual and moral point of view, a special military operation (Russia’s term for its war against Ukraine)
Russia's war and occupation of large swaths of Ukraine have led to hundreds of churches being damaged or destroyed, dozens of priests killed or kidnapped, and entire religious groups that don't conform to Moscow's brand of Orthodoxy being banned. With entire Ukrainian cities being leveled by Russian artillery fire, religious
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) neutralized a pro-Russian disinformation group in Kyiv whose members included a senior cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the SBU's press service said on March 12.
The bill would prohibit the activities of any religious organizations affiliated with war propaganda or justifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Parliament passed the bill in the first reading in October 2023, and the secondary reading is to be held.
A former abbot of the Dormition Cathedral in Kherson was charged with treason for supporting Russian occupation and cooperating with occupation authorities, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Feb. 19.
The Security Service of Ukraine began conducting searches at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (monastery) on Feb. 9, several Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing sources in the service.
Episode #2 of "This Week in Ukraine" is dedicated to Ukraine’s attempts to eradicate the influence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, a large church in Ukraine that still follows religious leaders in Russia, despite the war.
Kyiv – Hundreds of kilometers from battles raging in the country's east and south, Ukrainians in Kyiv celebrate Christmas twice to cherish precious moments with their loved ones. While Christmas is widely celebrated across the world on Dec. 25, Orthodox worshippers traditionally mark the festival on Jan. 7 instead. In Ukraine,
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Dec. 8 that it had found Russian passports, anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and a stolen collection of icons during searches at the premises of the Russian Orthodox Church's Ukrainian branch. The searches were conducted at 13 Moscow-linked churches, monasteries, and adjoining facilities in Cherkasy,
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has proposed banning Russian-affiliated religious groups, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Dec. 1. The most significant of the groups is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, an affiliate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The National Security and Defense
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