Moscow looking for reason to 'protect' Orthodox believers in Ukraine - Filaret

Moscow is looking for a new reason for another "protection," this time of Orthodox believers in Ukraine.

Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret said this at a press conference at Ukrinform on Friday.

"They say not so much about the issuing of the tomos, but about the seizure of temples. Where does it come from, and why? It comes from Moscow. Moscow is preparing the ground for intervention by military force [...] The same was in Donbas, where they had an excuse - 'protection' of the Russian-speaking population [...] When they intervened, they forgot why they intervened. Now they want to invent a new reason - protection of the Russian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, 'protection' of Orthodox believers. That is why, knowing this, we will not tolerate any violence and we will not give grounds for Moscow to interfere in our Ukrainian affairs, in our Ukrainian ecclesiastical life," Filaret said.

op