Ukraine petition seeks Ukrainian citizenship revocation for UOC Metropolitan Onufry

A petition appeared on the official website associated with the Ukrainian presidency, calling for the revocation of Ukrainian citizenship from the archbishop of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv. The petition was registered on April 11 and, at the time of reporting, had received 250 of the 25,000 votes required for a presidential review. It states that Berezovsky Orest Vladimirovich, a Ukrainian citizen known publicly as UOC Metropolitan Onufry, was born on November 5, 1944, and holds a Russian Federation passport obtained on March 20, 2002, with a second passport issued on June 23, 2003. The petition notes that the person claims Russian citizenship and urges the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to verify these details and, if confirmed, to terminate the individual’s Ukrainian citizenship. The formal request reads, in part, that if the information is verified, Ukrainian citizenship should be revoked for Metropolitan Onufry, noting his status as a citizen of the Russian Federation. Documentation of this petition appears in regional governance circles and is part of a broader set of governance actions and debates about church practices and national allegiance within Ukraine. It should be understood as one element in a wider conversation about religious institutions, state security, and citizenship in the current Ukrainian political environment. In recent days, some regional authorities in Volyn have restricted activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and similar restrictions were reported in Rivne, Lviv, and Khmelnytsky regions. These developments are part of a pattern of regional responses to church administration and religious expression that has drawn attention from national security and policy circles. Separately, there were reports of violence linked to church figures in western Ukraine, with an incident described as an attack on a bishop affiliated with the UOC in Ivano-Frankivsk, near the Chernivtsi diocese, which has been cited by various outlets as part of the broader tensions surrounding church leadership and jurisdiction in the region. Contextual notes indicate that these events intersect with ongoing debates about church governance, citizenship, and regional security considerations in Ukraine. Attributing motives, verifying identities, and tracking citizenship status remain sensitive tasks for Ukrainian authorities as they navigate questions of religious freedom, national identity, and public safety. Commentary from legal and policy analysts suggests that any determination about citizenship status would involve due process and compliance with both Ukrainian law and international norms on citizenship and religious liberties. Inquiries about the petition and its implications are commonly discussed in media briefings, policy forums, and expert panels that focus on church-state relations, secular governance, and the rights of religious organizations within the Ukrainian constitutional framework. The situation illustrates how citizenship and religious leadership can become focal points in a country balancing historical loyalties, regional distinctions, and evolving national security concerns. Attribution: this synthesis draws on reported details from Ukrainian governance notices and regional press summaries, compiled to provide a coherent overview of the sequence of events and their possible implications for citizenship, church governance, and regional security policy.