Oleksandr Sagan, a well-known lobbyist for the interests of the OCU, head of the department of religious studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, believes that “civil society” should be involved in the demolition of Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Kiev. Sagan is convinced that the Kiev City Council will not go to the dismantling of “self-buildings” of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, therefore it should be done by “concerned citizens”. About this he wrote on his page in Facebook.

“Maybe the KCSA should, first of all, to fulfill the court decision and demolish the Moscow self-build near the Church of the Tithe? So there is doubt that anything will change, even if such a decision of the KCSA is made. The UOC-MP has neglected and is neglecting the laws, because local government officials previously “did not see” the violations, and now they are in no hurry to correct them. There are many reasons for this phenomenon – this is not the point for now. There are dozens of self-buildings in Kyiv and hundreds in the country. Even court decisions on their demolition are not implemented … Civil society has its say here”, – said Sagan, commenting on the relevant decision of the KCSA.

It is worth noting that recently, during a press conference on religious freedom in Ukraine, Oleksandr Sagan made a statement about “increasing number of fakes about infringement of religious rights” in order to “show our state in a negative light abroad”. Apparently, the OCU lobbyist does not consider his own demand to demolish UOC churches in the capital and throughout Ukraine as “infringement of religious rights”.