A 2024 law requires the Moscow-linked church to sever all ties with Russia or face prohibition. Despite repeated instructions from the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, including a final August 18 deadline, the church has yet to take formal action.
Church officials insist they are already independent, denying any political allegiance to Moscow and rejecting allegations of wrongdoing. Metropolitan Klyment, a spokesman for the church, has described the law as an infringement on religious freedom, claiming that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church no longer participates in the Russian church’s governing bodies.
Despite those claims, religious experts and Ukrainian officials maintain that canonical and structural ties remain intact. Critics point out that the church’s head is still formally recognized within the Russian Orthodox Church’s hierarchy, and financial links to Russia persist through pro-Moscow benefactors.