"This is an illegal act, which is the grossest violation of the basic principles of freedom of conscience and human rights," Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Volodymyr Legoyda wrote.
Lawmakers voted to approve a bill banning religious organisations linked to Russia, including the Russian-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is united with the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Russian Orthodox Church supported the military offensive in Ukraine.
Legoyda said that "the bill, which has yet to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, creates a legal basis for the complete liquidation of the parishes of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the religious community uniting the majority of Ukrainians."
The spokesman warned that "the implementation of this law will lead to acts of mass violence against millions of believers."
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, visiting the Solovki monastery in northern Russia, spoke of "a very difficult time when many turned against us not because we are bad, but just because we are different." | BGNES
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