Political analyst: UOC ban benefits Poroshenko and ROC

Political expert Ruslan Bortnik said in a video on his Youtube channel that the likelihood of the adoption of anti-church laws and a complete ban on the UOC is high. By throwing the church issue into the information space, the authorities may be aiming at diverting attention from other negative topics: corruption scandals and questions of the war outcome. But, paradoxically, the main beneficiaries of the conflict in this situation around the UOC are the internal and external opponents of the government.

"First, it is the team of ex-President Petro Poroshenko, because it was they who started the process of creating a sovereign Church and the fight against the UOC. They will say that 'it was thanks to us that we managed to destroy the dominant religious structure in Ukraine, which was linked to Russia. And to create a large, national, albeit partially recognised Church".

But the ROC will also use this. The ROC will claim persecution of Orthodoxy, making the war against Ukraine a holy war for the Orthodox faith," the expert said.

Bortnik is sure that for the Kremlin, the destruction of the UOC will be another argument to promote a new wave of mobilization, while Ukraine in this situation will only get risks.

As reported, Ruslan Bortnyk earlier predicted that the situation with the uploading to social media of a video of a "Russian" song from the Kyiv Lavra would give an excuse for various political players to step up pressure on the Church.