The Russan Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman has lambasted an icon-like depiction of the Ukrainian leader and his aides as “meme-canonization of the ghouls”
The portrayal of Vladimir Zelensky and his closest aides as Christian saints by a Ukrainian outlet is another step towards the destruction of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
The September issue of NV (New Voice of Ukraine) magazine carried a photo-shopped image of Zelensky, his chief of staff Andrey Yermak, and adviser Dmitry Litvin dressed in white robes with halos above their heads and large white wings extending behind them.
The cover story, titled ‘The Supreme Trinity’, promised readers an inside look at how key decisions are made in Zelensky’s office.
Zakharova wrote on Telegram on Thursday that she first thought the image was “fake” and said she was surprised that a media outlet had chosen to depict Zelensky and his allies in the style of Christian iconography.
“The destruction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continues through a meme-canonization of the ghouls,” she said.
In traditional Christian belief, one can only be declared a saint after death, so the spokeswoman interpreted the cover as “a subtle hint that the Ukrainian people would agree even to this scenario as long as the [Zelensky] regime departs.”
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Kiev has taken an increasingly hard line against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which it says maintains ties with Moscow. Several of the denomination’s properties, including churches, have been seized and criminal cases opened against a number of its clerics. In early September, the Ukrainian authorities filed a case with the country’s top administrative court to have the UOC legally dissolved.
The Zelensky government supports the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was created in 2018 and is considered schismatic by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Russia’s demands for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict include calling for Kiev to stop its campaign against the UOC and to lift all restrictions on its activities.
