In the midst of the debate over the maintenance of the Orthodox Church in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Ukrainian government called for distancing itself from Moscow, reports lalibre.be, citing news.ro.

“If you have no ties with Russia, then officially say goodbye to them, say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is Satan,” Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Tuesday.

Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill is also a devil, Danilov added.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate until May, when it severed relations with Russia over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But the Ukrainian authorities continue to suspect her of cooperation with Moscow.

The headquarters of the Church were searched several times. The lease agreement of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was terminated at the end of the year.

Then the abbot of the monastery, Metropolitan Pavlo, criticized the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, and asked to allow him to stay.