Moscow, August 28, 2026
As reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the Russian Federation will be submitting a report prepared by the Foreign Ministry to the UN, the OSCE, and the Vatican regarding Ukraine’s unlawful actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said to reporters following talks with the Vatican’s foreign policy chief, Paul Richard Gallagher, “Incidentally, just recently, literally the other day, we published a report on the Kiev regime’s unlawful actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its clergy, and its parishioners. This is the third such report. It is being sent to the relevant international organizations, including the UN and the OSCE.”
Lavrov added that a copy of the report had also been handed over to the Vatican.
In recent years, Kiev has orchestrated a massive wave of persecution against the UOC—the largest community of believers in Ukraine. The activities of the canonical church have been banned in various regions under the pretext of ties to Russia. The Ukrainian secret services initiate criminal cases against clergy and conduct searches seeking evidence of “anti-Ukrainian activity.” Many of these clergymen are currently under arrest.
Hundreds of Orthodox UOC churches have been forcibly seized by Ukrainian schismatics with the support of local authorities, while clergy and laity—both men and women—are subjected to physical violence. On September 23, 2024, the Rada—Ukrainian parliament—adopted a law allowing for a ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was then signed by Vladimir Zelensky and entered into force in the country. This law gave the “go ahead” for law enforcement agencies to support the uncanonical “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” in their violent seizure property belonging to or in use by canonical the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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