French journalist: Persecution of UOC undermines strength of Ukrainians in war

Flavius Mihăieș. Photo: Screenshot of a video by Robert Amsterdam on X

American lawyer representing the UOC, Robert Amsterdam, spoke with the author of the article "Ukraine's Two Wars" in The American Conservative, Flavius Mihăieș, which he wrote after a trip to Ukraine from November 28 to December last year. Amsterdam posted the video of their conversation on X.

"I have experience working on religious minorities in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and at the beginning of the war in February 2022, I observed that the traditional Church, the main Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was the target of government pressure, scrutiny and closure of church buildings. And as an investigative journalist, that raised my interest to better understand it.," the journalist explained his motivation for the study.

In his opinion, although most Western countries support Ukraine in its struggle against the Russian invasion, religious practices and freedom of worship in Ukraine are not receiving enough attention.

"That matters because what I observed is that the tension between the government and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not just a question of policy or disagreement, it has a very real human impact. The services have been disrupted, priests have been sent to jail or placed under house arrest, and that, of course, impacts Ukraine’s ability to carry on its fight. It polarizes and divides the population, undermining the strength of the Ukrainians at a time of war, which is when faith is needed the most," believes Flavius Mihăieș.

As reported by the UOJ, journalist Mihăieș emphasized in his article that social networks are fostering antagonism toward the UOC.

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