The European Commission is proposing sanctions against Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

European Commission is proposing to impose sanctions against the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, as part of the sixth package of measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a document obtained by AFP today.

The new list, which still has to be approved by member countries, includes 58 people, including several Russian military officers but also the wife, the daughter, and the son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

It also includes the head of the Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor, Andrei Lipov.

The sanctions include a ban from entering EU countries and an asset freeze.

Over a thousand individuals have already been added to the European “blacklist”.

Patriarch Kirill, “a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin, has become one of the dominant supporters of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the document underlines.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has increased his sermons supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On February 27, he spoke of a fight against “forces of evil” that oppose the historic “unity” between Russia and Ukraine.

Source: ANA-MPA