He claims that Ukraine is “on the verge of a large-scale interfaith conflict”
Jan. 17 () –
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, assured the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that the government of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski is preparing new initiatives to “completely eliminate” the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“According to the information available, the ruling regime is preparing a series of new initiatives, the aim of which is to discriminate against the communities and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, to strip it of its historical and legal name, and even to eliminate it completely,” he said. pointed out Nebenzia, as reported by the TASS news agency.
In this sense, he explained that Ukraine is “on the verge of a large-scale interfaith conflict that the history of modern Europe has not yet seen.” Nebenzia has specified that kyiv, with Western support, has established a plan to “undermine” the Church.
In this way, he stressed that from Moscow they will not tolerate that “near” their borders “a Russophobic and anti-Christian dictatorship is being formed.” “Ukraine is now literally one step away from a fratricidal internal religious catastrophe,” he said in another part of the speech, according to a statement from the Russian mission to the UN.
During his appearance, the Russian ambassador has also taken the opportunity to ask the United Nations to provide “active assistance” in the release of the human rights activist Elena Berezhnaya, who is detained in Ukraine.
“Ukrainian human rights activist Elena Berezhnaya, who for eight years has been studying and documenting the formation process of neo-Nazism in Ukraine and spoke to members of the Security Council in March last year, was arrested by the Ukrainian special services and remains in custody on a preposterous charge of treason,” he said.
Likewise, it has said it is aware of cases of “people who are persecuted and arrested based on publications, statements, and even complaints.” “In general, just because they listen to Russian music and read Russian-language media,” she stressed.
