The United Kingdom government issued sanctions against the Russian Orthodox Church’s leader on Thursday.
In a statement issued on June 16, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office stated that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was being “sanctioned for his support and endorsement of Putin’s war.”
The announcement came after European Union member states failed to reach an agreement on whether Patriarch Kirill should face sanctions after the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, proposed his name. Hungary, according to reports, objected to his inclusion.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, a number of notable Russian people have been added to the UK sanctions list. Asset freezes and travel bans to the United Kingdom are among the punishments imposed.
“Today we are targeting the enablers and perpetrators of Putin’s war who have brought untold suffering to Ukraine, including the forced transfer and adoption of children,” said UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
“We will not tire of defending freedom and democracy, and keeping up the pressure on Putin, until Ukraine succeeds.”
More to come…