Ukraine adopts law paving way for ban of Russia-linked minority church

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian lawmakers on Tuesday paved the way for a ban against a Russia-linked minority Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) which Kyiv has cast as complicit in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

A majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians, but the faith is split into one branch traditionally tied to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and an independent church, recognised by the world Orthodox hierarchy since 2019.

Ukrainian leaders have accused the Moscow-linked UOC of abetting the Kremlin's 30-month-old assault by spreading pro-Russian propaganda and housing spies.

A bill passed into law in parliament on Tuesday bans the Russian Orthodox Church on Ukrainian territory, and a government commission will assemble a list of "affiliated" organisations whose activities are not allowed. The list is expected to target the UOC specifically.

The decision to ban them would be made by a court.

A total of 265 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, with 29 against, parliamentarian Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Telegram.

"Today we have embarked on the inevitable path of cleansing from within the Kremlin's agent network, which has been hiding behind the mask of a religious organisation for decades," lawmaker Roman Lozynskyi said on Facebook.

There was no immediate reaction from the minority church but it has said in the past that it had cut ties with the ROC, which is an open supporter of Moscow's war, after the February 2022 invasion.

Ukrainian officials dispute that claim and have launched dozens of criminal proceedings, including treason charges, against dozens of their clerics. At least one has been sent to Russia as part of a prisoner swap.

The legislation still needs a signature from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who described the move earlier this month as "aimed at strengthening Ukraine's spiritual independence".

He said the law should guarantee "there will be no manipulation of the Ukrainian Church from Moscow".

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Dan Peleschuk, additional reporting Olena Harmash; Editing by Angus MacSwan)