PACE recognises Russian Orthodox Church as tool of Russian influence and propaganda

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin as illegitimate and recognising the Russian Orthodox Church as a tool of Russian influence and propaganda, as reported by Ukrainian media.

“PACE unanimously recognised the Russian Orthodox Church as an instrument of Kremlin propaganda and influence. And Patriarch Kirill and the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church were recognised as accomplices in Russia’s crimes against Ukraine in the name of the “Russian world,” Goncharenko wrote, the chairman of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons.

Yevhenia Kravchuk, a member of the Verkhovna Rada’s permanent delegation to PACE, hailed the resolution on Facebook, emphasizing its support for Ukraine and condemnation of Putin’s aggression.

The resolution underscores Putin’s regime’s hostility towards democracy and its impact on the European and global order.

PACE also urged EU member states to strengthen sanctions against Russia and the Lukashenko regime in Belarus.

Also, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that the Russian Orthodox Church MP, a Kremlin-controlled organization, held a council and adopted an ideological document that ties together Kremlin ideological narratives to form a broader nationalist ideology around the war in Ukraine.

Source: pace.coe.int