President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a videoconference meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO).
The Head of State thanked the participants of the event for their continued support of our country and its people, of Ukrainian communities that suffer daily from Russian strikes.
“In times of such a brutal Russian war against Ukraine, standing with Ukraine and staying in Ukraine means defending all the good, humane things that are in human nature,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
The President also emphasized the role of churches and religious organizations in spreading the truth about the war. After all, the world needs to hear the true voice of religious leaders and communities, to see how many churches and places of worship have been ruined by the aggressor's shelling and how many lives have been destroyed by all the entities of the Russian Federation involved in the war.
In particular, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted, Russia uses the church to suppress the independence of other states and to limit the freedoms of their citizens.
“Therefore, it is our common duty to guarantee Ukrainian spiritual independence,” he is convinced.
The Head of State pointed out that support for the legislative initiative aimed at strengthening the spiritual independence of Ukraine is crucial.
The members of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations declared their support for the course of the President of Ukraine for spiritual independence, protection of the constitutional order, public security, human rights and fundamental freedoms from abuse by the aggressor state.
The UCCRO emphasizes that no organization, religious or secular, based in the country that has committed military aggression against the Ukrainian people, can function in Ukraine. Therefore, the Council supports the draft law introduced by the Government on the President's initiative, which prohibits such organizations from operating in our country.
The members of the Council stated that the main threat to religious freedom in Ukraine is Russian aggression, which has resulted in the deaths of clergy members and the destruction of hundreds of churches and places of worship.