“Russian world” ideology is also defined as aiming at the violent expansion of the Russian supranational imperial space as a tool of the special civilisational right of Russians to mass murder, engage in state terrorism and military interventions in other countries, occupy territories, and expand the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox

It is hard to see how the Law can recognise any break of affiliation with the ROC as permanent. Even if the UOC decides to somehow self-declare its autocephaly (full ecclesiastical independence), from a legal perspective this will still not be enough for UOC communities to avoid dissolution. As noted already, mere recognition at any time of the UOC

There is also insufficient evidence that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has been institutionally involved in undermining Ukraine’s national security. After almost two years from October 2022 of intensive investigations of UOC activities, there have so far been over 40 court verdicts against UOC clerics and 100+ criminal cases that are either

Much of the Law’s definition of “Russian world” is expressed in such confusing and vague language (eg. “neo-colonial doctrine”, “civilisational right to mass murders”) that the definition lacks legal precision and so is difficult to legally apply. It is also unclear why such a ban on this concept is necessary when Ukrainian law alread

While banning the ROC is mostly symbolic, as the ROC could not easily operate in Ukraine even without the ban, the legal consequences for religious organisations affiliated with the ROC such as the UOC are real. After the Law comes into force on 23 September 2024, they will be deprived of the right to use state-owned religious properties and ordere