The pro-Russian “Platform for Life and Peace” expelled from its ranks the MP who supported the ban of the UOC MP

The MP Yuriy Zahorodnyi was expelled from the “Platform for Life and Peace” group. He supported the draft law banning religious organizations associated with Russia in Ukraine.

The MP from "Voice" Yaroslav Yurchyshyn reported this.

The “Platform for Life and Peace” is a parliamentary group formed in April 2022 by former members of the pro-Russian political party “Opposition Platform for Life” (OPZZh), which was banned in March of the same year.

This group includes 22 MPs. Of them, 17 voted against the ban of the UOC MP, one did not vote (Vasyl Nimchenko), three others were absent from the meeting — Yuriy Pavlenko (claims that he is in the service), Oleksandr Ponomaryov (arrested on suspicion of treason) and Nestor Shufrych (is in the pre-trial detention center also on suspicion of treason).

Zahorodnyi is the only representative of the "Platform for Life and Peace" who supported the ban on the UOC MP.

Prohibition of the UOC MP in Ukraine

On January 19, 2023, the government submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law banning churches affiliated with Russia in Ukraine. This was done on the instructions of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

On October 19, 2023, the parliament supported this draft law in the first reading. In the second reading, the draft law was supported only on August 20, 2024.

The law provides that religious organizations suspected of cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church will be checked by the appropriate expert commission. If the commission records a violation, the church will be issued an order to correct the situation.

If the religious organization does not rectify the situation in any way, then a trial will begin regarding its ban. At the same time, the religious organization does not mean the entire UOC MP, but individual legal entities that represent it. This means that each parish or diocese will be banned separately.

After the law enters into force, the UOC MP communities will have 9 months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.