A member of the Kiev city council and head of the Standing Committee on Budget and Socio-Economic Development, Andriy Vitrenko, has said that a draft decision “on putting religious buildings in Kiev in order” may be adopted at the next session of the Kiev city council. This is reported by the publication Informator.

It is about the deputies’ intention to oblige the UOC to “leave all the plots of land in Kiev, which were unauthorizedly occupied” by its churches and chapels. The church, according to the deputies, must dismantle the buildings itself, and if it refuses, they will be demolished at the expense of the city, and the costs will still be borne by the religious community.

According to Vitrenko, last time, on January 18, it was not possible to vote for this issue because a number of deputies decided not to return to the session hall after the air raid.

“There is a draft decision, it is on the agenda of the session. At the last session, it was not voted because the quorum was “sprinkled” after the air raid – the deputies were gathering for a long time. To avoid speculation, we finished not exactly on this project, but two or three before it. This project will definitely be considered, and I am sure that it can really be supported. And I am sure that it will be implemented”, – Vitrenko said.

When asked whether the Kyiv City Council would really have the political will to dismantle churches and chapels in the capital that were built over the previous 20 years by representatives of the UOC, he said that indeed there is enough will, “and there is an executive body, the KSCA, which must fulfill everything that we accept.”