Ukrainian parliament votes to ban Orthodox Church over alleged links with Russia

The Ukrainian parliament gave initial approval on Thursday to a law that would ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after Kyiv accused it of collaborating
with Russia following last year’s invasion.
The UOC has historic links with Moscow, but says it is no longer aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church. It denies the charges leveled at it by Kyiv and said the draft law would be unconstitutional.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app that deputies had voted to support the bill in its first reading. It has to be backed in a second reading and approved by the president to go in to force.
The law would ban the activities of religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence “in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine”, and such activities could be terminated by a court of law.