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The West wants to destroy Ukraine by dividing its Church, says the Russian propaganda, quoting a former Ukrainian prime minister, now a fugitive in Russia.
Propaganda: The goal of the West is to destroy Orthodoxy in Ukraine, to dismantle the state and promote moral decay
NEWS: The Church is a tool the West is using to destroy Ukraine, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told ONT TV. Hundreds of years ago, the West did everything it could to destroy the Orthodox Church, to divide it. We can recall the so-called Union of Brest, when the Orthodox Church was divided into Orthodox Christians, who kept their faith and canons, and the Uniates [...]
After the coup d'état, with the emergence of the pro-American government, it was decided to destroy this branch of Orthodoxy because of its connection with the Moscow Patriarchate. According to the former prime minister, the church is being destroyed in order to deprive people of spiritual unity [...] In the age of atheism, of lack of faith, which, by the way, has its origins in the West, and especially now, during the military operations, the process of dismantling the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken an extremely serious form.
NARRATIVES: 1. The West is destroying Orthodoxy in Ukraine in order to dismantle the Ukrainian state. 2. A coup d'état took place in Kyiv, after which atheism and decadence were brought to Ukraine from the West.
PURPOSE: To justify Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine; to encourage enrolment into the Russian army and increase war fatigue in Ukraine
Reality: The West is helping Ukraine defend itself. The Kremlin uses the Russian Patriarchate politically
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In reality, the West's goal is not to destroy Ukraine, but to save it from the Russian military aggression that threatens its existence as a state. Freedom of conscience and religion are guaranteed and respected in the West. Moreover, in its reports, the EU recommends Ukraine to strengthen the legislative provisions that protect religious freedoms and ensure the rights of national minorities and religious communities. The West does not aim to destroy a religion, and the historical arguments mentioned by the former Ukrainian prime minister (the Union of Brest, adopted on October 9, 1596, five centuries ago) have nothing to do with the current political context, created by the Russian Federation's war on Ukraine.
The Kremlin uses the Russian Orthodox Church to promote various propaganda narratives and legitimize the war among believers, including by blessing the invading army. Russian propaganda promotes the idea that Moscow is a bastion of orthodoxy and morality. It is important to note that Patriarch Kiril has collaborated with Russian intelligence services at various stages of his life. For example, during the Cold War, Kirill, then a KGB agent, was tasked with influencing and supervising certain international organizations in Geneva. He is involved in the FSB network, supported by the Putin regime, and promotes Moscow's political interests at the expense of Orthodoxy or genuine Christian values.
In 2018, Ukraine succeeded in obtaining autocephaly (independence) for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, thereby reducing the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since then, there have been two Orthodox Churches in Ukraine: one canonically subordinated to Moscow, and the other to Constantinople.
In the midst of the war with Russia, Ukrainian authorities demanded that churches under Moscow's jurisdiction rename themselves to more clearly reflect their ties to Russia. In some cases, Ukraine confiscated or reclaimed properties belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Moscow's jurisdiction, and gave them to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Regardless of these internal social-political and confessional processes, it is not about the destruction of Orthodoxy or the Ukrainian state, as the Russian state claims.
There was no coup d'état in Kyiv in 2014, and it was a pro-European, not pro-American government that came to power, which succeeded in signing the Association Agreement with the EU in 2016. The change of political power in Ukraine did not take place through a coup, it was the result of elections. Presidential elections were held in the spring of 2014, and in the fall of the same year –parliamentary elections. Observers from the most important international organizations and various states around the world participated in these elections, and the results were recognized by the international community.
Repeating one of the classic narratives of Russian propaganda about the Western decadence and the historical roles of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church as saviors, Russian propaganda fails to mention that it was Moscow that, in the Soviet period, promoted scientific atheism and turned it into a common political practice for eight decades of communist regimes in Europe. Many Western countries have strong democratic policies and institutions that promote human rights, freedom of expression, gender equality and social justice, demonstrating a commitment to democratic values and principles. Unlike Russia, Western societies promote diversity and inclusion, accepting and integrating different cultures and ethnic communities, which reflects a commitment to tolerance and social cohesion.
CONTEXT: The Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov fled to Russia during the pro-European street protests of 2013-2014. The politician is increasingly used by the pro-Kremlin propaganda to back disinformation messages. In March of this year, the Kyiv prosecutor's office charged Azarov with high treason for carrying out anti-Ukrainian activities by collaborating with the Russian Federations’ propaganda and disinformation bodies.
Kyiv’s Supreme Rada passed a law in August that could ban in the future the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and of religious organizations associated with it. Kyiv presented the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, historically linked to Russia, as a hotbed of foreign influence.
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