President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has enacted sanctions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which were approved by the National Security and Defence Council (NCDC) in December.
The relevant decree was published on the president's website. The sanctions list includes 10 people, including former MP clergyman Vadym Novinskyy. Also, the abbot of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Pavlo (Lebid). The rest are Crimean clergymen who actually sided with the invader after the occupation began, as well as fugitives, Metropolitan Ivanov and Bishop Maslennikov, who swore allegiance to the Russian Orthodox Church after the full-scale invasion began.
Sanctioned persons:
- the so-called Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea of the Russian Orthodox Church Rostislav Shvets
- the so-called Bishop of Bakhchisaray, vicar of the Simferopol Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Konstantin Chernyshov
- "Bishop" Oleksandr Ovsyannikov of "Dzhankoy and Razdolnensk of the Russian Orthodox Church, administrator of the Dzhankoy Diocese"
- "Archbishop" Alexander Taranov of "Rovenkivsk and Sverdlovsk of the Russian Orthodox Church"
- Metropolitan Oleh Ivanov of Izyum and Kupyansk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
- Bishop Oleksiy Maslennikov of Romensk and Burynsk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
- "Bishop of Koktebel of the Russian Orthodox Church, vicar of the Feodosia Diocese" Vyacheslav Opanasenko.
The restrictive measures were imposed for a period of 5 years.
The sanctions include:
- blocking of assets - temporary deprivation of the right to use and dispose of assets owned by an individual or legal entity, as well as assets in respect of which such a person may directly or indirectly (through other individuals or legal entities) perform actions identical in content to the exercise of the right to dispose of them;
- restriction of trading operations (complete termination);
- restriction, partial or complete termination of transit of resources, flights and transportation through the territory of Ukraine (complete termination);
- preventing the withdrawal of funds from Ukraine;
- suspension of economic and financial obligations;
- revocation or suspension of licenses and other permits, the receipt (availability) of which is a condition for carrying out a certain type of activity, in particular, revocation or suspension of special permits for the use of subsoil;
- prohibition of participation in privatization, lease of state property by residents of a foreign state and persons directly or indirectly controlled by residents of a foreign state or acting in their interests;
- full or partial prohibition of transactions with securities issued by persons subject to sanctions under this Law (full prohibition);
- prohibition of transfer of technologies and intellectual property rights;
- termination of cultural exchanges, scientific cooperation, educational and sports contacts, entertainment programs with foreign states and foreign legal entities.
These sanctions were approved by the NSDC on 2 December. Following the discovery of numerous anti-Ukrainian propaganda materials distributed among clergy and believers, the NSDC initiated a ban on religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Federation. It was also instructed to "ensure within two months the verification of the existence of legal grounds and compliance with the conditions for the use of property located on the territory of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve by religious organizations."
NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov explained that the sanctions were imposed not on the UOC but on "certain individuals in cassocks."