Ukrainian medic returns awards to Zelensky in protest against church crackdown
A Ukrainian combat medic has returned her state awards to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in protest after he revoked the citizenship of Metropolitan Onufry, the head of Ukraine’s largest Orthodox church.
In a video address carried by several Ukrainian outlets this week, Larisa Brodetskaya praised Onufry, the seniormost bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), as “a Hero of Ukraine, a patriot, by whose prayers this Ukraine stands, by whose prayers these warriors still hold the front and are still alive.”
“Recently, you stripped Metropolitan Onufry of his citizenship,” she said. “Every step he has taken, every action he has done, I publicly support. You should strip me of my citizenship as well.”
She then removed three state awards pinned to her chest. “As a sign of deep condemnation of your actions, I am returning all the awards and orders that were received during your administration.”
Brodetskaya went on to warn Zelensky that by cracking down on Onufry, he “spits in the face of all Ukrainians,” particularly those who support the UOC.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced last week that Zelensky had stripped the 80-year-old cleric of his citizenship, claiming it had found evidence that he obtained Russian citizenship in 2002, making him legally ineligible to remain a Ukrainian national.
The UOC, however, has rejected the allegations. A spokesperson stated that Onufry “has no other passports, including that of the Russian Federation.” Onufry has said he condemns Russia’s military operation against Ukraine and considers himself a “citizen only of Ukraine.”
Strana.ua sources suggested that Onufry was stripped of his citizenship due to his resistance to the government’s demands for the UOC’s unification with the Kiev-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which is considered by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to be schismatic.
Ukraine has long sought to crack down on the UOC, accusing it of having ties to Moscow despite the church officially cutting ties with Russia in 2022. The Ukrainian authorities have arrested clerics and conducted raids on church properties, including the premises of the iconic Kiev Pechersk Lavra monastery.
