At the bottom of the political tension between Russia and Ukraine is religious persecution of Russian-minded people. That becomes clear from the words of President Putin and his Foreign Minister Lavrov.
Ukraine is harassing churchgoers and clergy of the Russian part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. During his address on Monday evening, he announced to recognise the independence of the separatist Ukrainian regions. He said that “Kiev is continuing to prepare a crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.”
According to Interfax and Ria Novosti, this is “not an emotional but a documented” assessment. “The Ukrainian authorities have cynically turned the tragedy of the church split into an instrument of state policy. The country’s current leadership does not respond to the requests of the Ukrainian citizens to repeal the laws that infringe on the rights of believers,” he went on to say.
Mr Putin said that the parliament in Kiev is voting on bills “directed against the clergy and millions of parishioners”. He did not specify what bills he was speaking of.
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