On February 9, 2024, during a visit to Chernivtsi, the head of the OCU Epifany Dumenko, said that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s attempts to defend its rights at the international level are harmful to Ukraine’s image. Dumenko’s statement is quoted by the Young Bukovinets publication.

“They need to show the whole world that certain persecutions and persecutions are taking place here. And in reality, there is no such thing. And the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations constantly testifies to this. They do this to harm the Ukrainian state at the international level. So everyone should understand what role the Russian Orthodox Church is playing in Ukraine right now. If you want to see a direct institutional connection with the Russian church, then call yourself by name. That is, when there will be a sign on the church that it is the Russian church. I am convinced that then people will not go to it. You can not cover yourself with the name and at the same time clandestinely work for the enemy”, – believes Dumenko.

It is worth noting that information about the violation of the rights of clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church regularly appears in the reports of the UN and the OSCE. Earlier, we reported that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed his concern about the pressure of the Ukrainian authorities on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.