Ukraine: Cabinet approves sanctions against Patriarch Kirill and other church members

08. September 2022

On Tuesday, August 30, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved proposals for applying personal sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, and seven other representatives of this church. According to the press service of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the list will still be considered by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. In addition, their coordination will allow addressing the international community with the same list to apply the same list to impose the same sanctions in other countries.

Members of the government approved proposals to impose sanctions for ten years against:

o 16th Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia (Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev, born on 20.11.1946);
o head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (Grigory V. Alfeev, born on 24.07.1966);
o archpriest Nikolai Balashov, deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (Nikolai Vladimirovich Balashov, born on 13.12.1956);
o Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov of the Russian Orthodox Church (Georgy Shevkunov, born on 02.07.1958);
o Archbishop of Syktyvkar and Komi-Zyryansk of the Russian Orthodox Church Pitirim (Pavel Volochkov, born on 02.02.1961);
o archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church, writer, preacher and teacher Artemy V. Vladimirov (born 21.02.1961);
o mitred archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church, preacher, TV presenter Andrey Yu. Tkachev (born 30.12.1969);
o Alexey Ilyich Osipov, Russian Orthodox theologian, teacher and publicist, doctor of theology, honored professor of the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy and Seminary (born 31.03.1938).

The sanctions include: blocking assets, stopping the transit of resources, flights and transportation by Ukraine, suspending the fulfillment of economic and financial obligations, banning participation in the privatization and lease of state property, stopping cultural exchanges and cooperation, canceling official visits, etc.

This decision was made by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in order to protect the national interests, national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Proposals to the sanctions list were prepared by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy together with the state service of Ukraine for ethnic policy and freedom of conscience. (Quelle: www.risu.ua, 30. August 2022)