President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky reminded that the state is separated from the Church and citizens are free to choose their religion.

In Ukraine, the state is separated from the church, and citizens have the opportunity to choose which church to go to, said Vladimir Zelensky in a video from the briefing published on the Telegram channel PavlovskyNews.

Commenting on the question of journalists whether he would discuss the issue of harassment of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky replied that he did not see any problems in Ukraine in this direction. “As for the Russian language and the Churches, I have always said that the state is separated from the Church and I have never used the heads of the Churches to influence the population in terms of supporting the electorate,” Zelensky said. They are absolutely free here, people as well as churches. Our citizens are free to go to whatever Church they choose.”

The President also noted that in the place of church leaders, he would once again call on parishioners to follow the quarantine recommendations for protection against COVID-19. “Faith is very important, but it is important for the living first of all,” the president said.

As reported by the UOJ, Zelensky intends to discuss the issue of the Orthodox Church with Putin.