Russia Will Not Leave Them in Distress, Lavrov Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Russia will not leave "Ukrainian Orthodox believers in distress." This was reported by rg.ru.

“Russia will ensure the protection of the legitimate rights of Orthodox Ukrainians and restore canonical Orthodoxy to its central place in the spiritual life of the people living on Ukrainian soil,” he said.

According to Lavrov, the current authorities in Kyiv have persecuted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) for many years, and now they have driven the church to a state of "legal dissolution." As an example, he cited the ongoing seizures of churches, vandalism, and attacks on priests and parishioners.