Today, on 19 October, the Verkhovna Rada voted in favour of banning religious organisations associated with the Russian Federation in the first reading. In particular, this applies to the UOC-MP.
The bill No. 8371 was voted in favour by 267 MPs. According to MPs, further amendments will be added. It is not yet known when the second reading will be held.
LB.ua learned from its own sources that the Verkhovna Rada will vote to ban the UOC-MP at the next meeting. The necessary number of votes to pass the bill is available.
On 1 December 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defence Council to ban the activities of religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in Russia in Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers submitted the relevant draft law to the Verkhovna Rada on 19 January 2023, and it was expected that MPs would submit it for consideration in May. However, on 23 September, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said that there were no votes to ban the UOC-MP - "there is an internal discussion".