Sanctions of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) are imposed only on individuals who cooperate with the aggressor, not the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said on the air of the news telethon.
"I do not think that we are fighting the Church. There are individuals to whom the Security Service of Ukraine has certain claims, and sanctions are imposed on these people. And we do not care that they have some kind of rank, work somewhere, when it comes to national security. We do not care whether a person is wearing a cassock or a Brioni suit, or something else. We do not pay attention to this when it comes to national security. Everyone who works with the occupier, who is related to the Russian Federation - they all must be held accountable under the laws of our country," Danilov said.
He added that Moscow Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) sends Russians to kill Ukrainians, and asked rhetorically what there as that can be talked about or negotiated with him.
Danilov said that if a person has contact with those who brought the war to Ukraine, he or she will be responsible under Ukrainian law.
On 1 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put into effect the NSDC decision initiating a ban on religious organizations associated with Russia.
Later, on 11 December, Zelenskyy enacted sanctions against persons associated with the UOC (MP). Among them is Metropolitan Antoniy of Boryspil and Brovary (Ivan Pakanych), Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church. This is not the first list of sanctioned persons associated with the UOC (MP). On 2 December, sanctions were imposed on the abbot of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and former MP Vadym Novinskyy, as well as eight other people.