Four-fifths of Ukrainians support ban of Russia-linked church in poll

By Max Hunder

KYIV (Reuters) - Four-fifths of Ukrainians said they supported a new law banning Russia-affiliated religious groups in a survey released on Tuesday, as Kyiv seeks to root out a branch of the Orthodox Church accused of cooperating with Moscow, which is waging war on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which counted 6% of the respondents as followers, has for years faced accusations that it is a tool of Moscow's influence in Ukraine and that some of its clergy cooperate with Russian intelligence.

The church denies these allegations and maintains that it officially broke off all ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, previously its parent church, in May 2022 - three months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

In August, Ukraine passed a law that bans the Russian Orthodox Church on Ukrainian territory and says that a government commission will assemble a list of "affiliated" organisations whose activities are not allowed.

Lawmakers said the process of banning the UOC would be long and complicated as each UOC parish is an individual legal entity and will have nine months to decide whether it wants to leave the church.

Most Ukrainians are part of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a separate church founded in 2019 to be independent of Moscow and recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, widely regarded as the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christianity.

Russia's invasion has already driven hundreds of UOC parishes to switch to the OCU, sometimes causing tensions in rural communities with one church.

The poll, conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, found broad support for the law across all regions of Ukraine that remain under Kyiv's control. Even in the more Russophone east, over 70% of respondents supported the ban.

Overall, 16% of Ukrainians said they opposed the ban, while another 4% were unsure, with 80% in favour. 

Throughout the war, Kyiv has highlighted the national security risks it says the Church poses. 

Dozens of UOC clergy have been arrested and tried on charges including treason and cooperating with Russia. The UOC says it is the victim of a witch hunt.

Ukraine has traded a number of UOC clergy for Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia during the war. One unidentified clergyman accused of working for Russia was swapped for 28 Ukrainian soldiers.

Lawmakers in Estonia and the Czech Republic have also raised concerns this year about Moscow's influence through the Russian Orthodox Church in their countries.

(Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Kevin Liffey)