Russia Says US Behind Ukraine’s Strain on Moscow-Linked Orthodox Church

(Reuters) – Russia’s Overseas Ministry mentioned late on Sunday that the U.S. was behind the stress that Ukrainian authorities have been exerting on the Russian-aligned wing of the Orthodox Church in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which Kyiv says has ties with Russia, defied an eviction order final week from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery within the capital. On Saturday, a prime Ukrainian cleric from the church was sentenced to accommodate arrest.

“It is no secret that the (President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy regime just isn’t unbiased in its anti-clerical coverage. The Orthodox schism, hitting this sphere of life, is a purpose that has been lengthy proclaimed in Washington,” the ministry mentioned in an announcement, with out offering proof.

“The seize of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by Kyiv’s present authorities is an illegitimate act from a authorized standpoint and immoral from a religious standpoint.”

(Reporting by Nick Starkov, Lidia Kelly and Ron Popeski; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Modifying by Josie Kao)

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