Filaret Denisenko, the head of the UOC-KP, whose registration was terminated by the authorities in 2019, published “Statement of Patriarch Filaret on sanctions against the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine.”

“On behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, I express support for the decisive actions of the Ukrainian authorities to prevent the presence of the Moscow Patriarchate and its affiliated religious structures in Ukraine, in particular, the provisions of the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. December 2022 “On certain aspects of the activities of religious organizations in Ukraine and the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions)”. <…>

At the same time, I want to emphasize that only the Patriarchate can be a real guarantee of the autocephaly of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, its free development from foreign religious centers.

I call on the Ukrainian authorities, episcopates, clergy, believers to continue the struggle for the emergence of a truly autocephalous united Ukrainian Orthodox Church and develop it in the status of a Patriarchate,” writes Filaret.