Ukrainian lawmakers voted
last week to ban the Russia-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC),
which Kyiv has accused of abetting Moscow's 30-month-old war by
spreading pro-Russian propaganda and harbouring spies.
"The
Kyiv regime, unfortunately, continues to show its true nature. This is
an open attack on freedom of religion, an attack on the Orthodox Church
as a whole, and an attack on Christianity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov told reporters.
A
majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians but the faith is split
between the UOC and an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine,
recognised by the world Orthodox hierarchy since 2019.
President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has hailed last week's vote as a step to strengthen
Ukraine's "spiritual independence" and signed it into law.
The
UOC began to distance itself from Russia after Moscow's February 2022
invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation,
and denies it has links with "foreign centres."
But
criminal proceedings, including treason charges, have been launched
against dozens of its clerics angering the Kremlin and the Russian
Orthodox Church.