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Ukraine’s parliament passes bill to ban canonical Orthodox church

The bill received 265 votes in favor, with 226 votes required

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. The Verkhovna Rada (parliament) has approved the final reading of a bill banning the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the country, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said via Telegram.

The bill received 265 votes for, with 226 votes required.

Earlier, commenting on the draft law, Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said it would ban the UOC outright.

The law is supposed to take effect in 30 days.

The bill was drafted on direct instructions from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Ukraine’s parliament passed the first reading of it in October 2023 and the document was not moved for the second reading ever since amid fears that it would fail to garner enough votes for or that it would provoke criticism in the West. However, Ukrainian legislators unanimously approved final amendments to it on August 16.

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