This statement is untrue. According to Ukrainian legislation, religious beliefs do not release a person from the duty to defend the state in wartime.
Social media users spread misinformation that Ukrainian Greek Catholics are allegedly exempted from mobilization. These reports were based on the news that the Kyiv Three Saints Theological Seminary received a license from the Science and Education Ministry for the first (bachelor’s) level of higher education in Theology.
Indeed, according to the order of the Science and Education Ministry dated January 15, 2024, the Kyiv Three Saints Theological Seminary received a state license and was included into the Unified State Electronic Database on Education. However, this event does not in any way affect the mobilization process in Ukraine. Besides, it does not release the parishioners of the Greek Catholic Church from the constitutional duty to defend the country.
In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda, Andrii Novak, a lawyer at the Miller law firm, explained that according to Ukrainian law, religious beliefs do not release a person from the duty to protect the state. The Constitution ensures the equality of all citizens and does not allow discrimination based on religion. The Law on Mobilization Training and Mobilization does not make any exceptions for believers. Military service is the same for both believers and atheists.
At the same time, Article 35 of the Ukrainian Constitution emphasizes that if the performance of military duty contradicts the religious beliefs of a citizen, it must be replaced by an alternative (non-military) service. In Ukraine, there is a list of religious organizations whose followers are forbidden not only to use, but even to touch weapons. The Greek Catholic Church is not on this list. However, this norm applies only to military service in peacetime. Screenshot — Law of Ukraine On alternative (non-military) service.
Previously, StopFake journalists refuted the disinformation that 700 prosecutors in Ukraine received combatant status during the full-scale war.
