Ukrainian President Signs Decree Stripping Metropolis Oleg of the Ukrainian Citizenship
According to official information released by the Security Service of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has made the decisive step to revoke the Ukrainian citizenship of Metropolitan Oleg (Orest Berezovsky), a prominent religious leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP). This measure forms part of a broader effort to counteract the influence of foreign states and to prevent individuals who actively undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and church independence from holding Ukrainian citizenship. It has been established that Berezovsky acquired Russian citizenship voluntarily in 2002 and failed to inform Ukrainian authorities about this fact. Despite this, he continued to use Ukrainian documents and played a significant role in influencing church processes within Ukraine. Security agencies have confirmed that he maintains close ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and actively opposes the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian church, thereby perpetuating dependency on Moscow and impeding efforts for religious independence. His support for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who openly endorses Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and propagates justification for war crimes and genocide, further complicates the situation. As of now, the official decree has not yet been published on the presidential website, but its approval is expected in the coming days.