On September 15, 2023, deputies of the Poltava city council voted for an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the president to restrict the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. About it reports Espreso.

The corresponding decision, the draft of which was submitted by the party “European Solidarity”, was supported by 26 out of 27 deputies.

Secretary of the city Council Catherine Yamshchikova noted that she would like to immediately ban the activities of the UOC on the territory of the community.

“I would like us to ban in general in its territorial community the activities of the UOC-MP, as other communities do. And to submit already this proposal, and not to overload the Cabinet. So that the community would take responsibility. Not to vote an appeal to someone, but to do it independently,” she said.

However, EU MP Yulia Horodchanina noted that the city council does not have such powers, only the parliament has them. At the same time, the city council can submit an appeal to the president.

“Most churches are the property of dioceses, private property. When we break the lease agreements, and they have permanent use, we simply exempt the dioceses from paying taxes, and we can’t kick them out. That is why we have not filed a decision on the ban, now only an appeal”, – explained Yulia Horodchanina.