on Google
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Dec. 2 to approve a proposal by the National Security and Defense Council to ban Russian-affiliated religious groups and impose sanctions on a number of pro-Moscow bishops.
The primary target of these measures is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, an affiliate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The National Security and Defense Council instructed the Cabinet on Dec. 1 to draft a bill on such a ban. The bill is expected to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.
Zelensky also sanctioned Vadym Novynsky, an ex-lawmaker from the pro-Russian Opposition Bloc and sponsor of the Moscow-backed church; Pavlo Lebid, head of the Russian-affiliated church's Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and an ex-lawmaker from the pro-Russian Party of Regions, and Rotyslav Shvets, a bishop who "annexed" his Crimean diocese of the Russian-backed Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Russian Orthodox Church in June.
Sanctions were also imposed on several other Moscow Patriarchate bishops in Ukraine's Crimea and a bishop who annexed his diocese in Russian-occupied parts of Luhansk Oblast to the Russian Orthodox Church in October.
The SBU reported on Dec. 2 that it was conducting searches at Moscow Patriarchate churches and monasteries in Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Zakarpattia oblasts.
The security measures aim to counter the subversive activities of Russian special services in Ukraine and protect the population from provocations and terrorist attacks, according to the SBU.
During previous raids, the SBU found Russian propaganda and xenophobic literature, Russian passports belonging to senior clergy, and documents with pro-Russian ideological messages at the premises of the Russian-backed church.
In May, the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian church said it would have “full independence” from the Russian Orthodox Church, reacting to criticism of Russian-backed church leaders amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian branch also said that it “condemns the war” and “disagrees with the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on the war in Ukraine.”
However, skeptics said it was just a ploy to appease critics since the Ukrainian branch effectively remained part of the Russian church and did not declare “autocephaly” – the Orthodox term for genuine independence. Under Orthodox rules, only one independent - or "autocephalous" - church can exist in a specific country.
The Russian-backed church's full independence under Orthodox rules would imply its merger with the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine but the Moscow-affiliated church has opposed such a unification.
Most Popular
He fled Maduro's Venezuela. Now he leads Ukraine's South American battalion.
Largest oil facility in Moscow region erupts in flames following massive Ukrainian drone attack
New automatic gun turrets successfully down first Russian jet-powered drones, Air Force says
South Korea says it received 'insufficient' apology from Ukraine over North Korean POWs, mulls envoy recall
South Korea shipped fuel to Russia via sanctioned vessels, media reports
News Feed Show More
Thursday, October 8
(Updated: )
"Russia comes to the Ukrainian land with death," Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
(Updated: )
The Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat facility is one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical plants, located some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the front line in Ukraine.
(Updated: )
At 10:00 a.m. local time, Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm DTEK announced emergency energy shutdowns in Brovary, Buchanskyi, Vyshgorod, and Boryspil districts of the capital.
"The government looks forward to the smooth resolution of all pending issues between the two countries and will continue consultations with the Ukrainian side to this end," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
We need "a substantive discussion about adaptation periods, the volumes of market access, and safeguard mechanisms," said Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi.
Russia being able to trade grain while it blockades Ukraine from doing likewise "is an unacceptable situation," said Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius.
The EU's Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, had already said, "We have to protect the farmers in the EU, and we are already discussing this subject with Ukraine."
(Updated: )
Chernihiv Oblast Governor Viacheslav Chaus said that on Putin's birthday, he hopes "the Russian dictator ends up in custody in The Hague or in hell."
The number includes 1,880 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
The Sasovo data center is located on the grounds of the Sasta machine-tool plant, a manufacturer of metal-cutting and high-precision CNC metalworking machines used across Russian industry, including the defense-industrial, aerospace, oil and gas, and heavy machinery sectors.
US senators urge Trump administration to enforce new Russia sanctions law ahead of Oct. 18 deadline.
The senators called for tougher action against Russia's oil revenues and sanctions-evasion networks, urging the administration to match European and U.K. designations of shadow-fleet vessels.
In addition to the new structures, some Moldovan border guards currently stationed on the Ukrainian side of the border will be transferred to the Moldovan side.
The move is a preventative measure in response to signals that Russia may announce mobilization, Lithuanian Interior Minister Martians Katelynas said.
The strike caused a fire and partial structural damage at a 12-story building, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service. Four people were injured, including two children.
"Unfortunately, despite weeks of efforts by diplomats, consuls, and rescuers, (the missing Ukrainians) have still not been found among either the dead or the injured," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
