Moscow calls sanctions on Ukrainian Orthodox religious “satanic”

MADRID, 7 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky announced this Saturday the imposition of sanctions on 119 Russian personalities, including several famous people and three people with Ukrainian citizenship.

On the list are the singer Irina Allegrova -Ukrainian citizen-, the television presenter Zhanna Badoeva, the singer Dimitro Bilan, the presenter Dana Borisova or the singer Oleksander Buinov.

He also mentions the former Ukrainian soccer player Anatoli Timoshchuk -Ukrainian who continued to work as assistant coach of Zenit Saint Petersburg after the Russian invasion-, the singer Larisa Dolina, the actor Dimitro Diuzhev, the singer Victoria Daineko, the actor Dimitro Jaratian or the singer Philip Kirkorov.

Decree 4/2023 explains that the proposal of the Security Service of Ukraine for the imposition of economic sanctions and other restrictions on these people has been approved.

The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksii Danilov, will be responsible for the supervision and application of these sanctions, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.

The decree further urges the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform the competent authorities of the EU, the United States and other countries about these sanctions and restrictions in order to urge them to apply similar measures.

In December Zelensky already imposed sanctions on thirteen religious of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including Metropolitan Luka of Zaporizhia and MElitopol and Metropolitan Panteleimon of Lugansk and Alchevsk, which includes the deprivation of Ukrainian nationality.

This Saturday the Kremlin has described this measure as “satanism”. “And this in the middle of Orthodox Christmas! It’s pure satanism,” said the spokeswoman for the Russian Presidency, Maria Zajarova, quoted by the TASS news agency.

Other Ukrainian religious have been accused of treason, subversive activities or “spreading propaganda theses among the faithful.”