US Lawmaker Demands Answers as Oligarch Allegedly Forces Parish Church Seizure

CREDIT: https://floridapolitics.com

WASHINGTON DC — In a social media post published on January 30, 2026, Representative Anna Paulina Luna criticized what she described as continued efforts to seize the Nativity of the Theotokos parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Kuzmyn, Ukraine. Representative Luna's comment appeared in the form of a quote tweet of UOJ-America's reporting on the incident and the appeal to Vice President JD Vance by the St. George the Great Martyr parish in Pryiutivka.

“Despite my repeated warnings,” Luna wrote, “the seizure of the Nativity church in Kuzmyn is still being pushed by Anatolii Mykhailiuk,” whom she described as a local oligarch pressuring residents to support the parish’s takeover. Luna added that she expected Olha Stefanishyna, current Ambassador to the US, to “explain herself” during a meeting in her office later this week.

The post is the latest development in an ongoing public exchange between Luna and Stefanishyna concerning the Kuzmyn parish. Earlier this month, parishioners from Kuzmyn released a video appeal addressed to Luna, expressing fears that their church could be transferred following an illicit local vote. Luna subsequently stated that her office was documenting reported church seizures and warned that there would be “consequences” if the Nativity parish were taken from the UOC community.

Stefanishyna later responded to Luna’s comments on social media, dismissing them as disinformation. The exchange prompted further online debate, with some commentators drawing attention to past reporting on an unresolved investigation involving Stefanishyna during her prior service in the Ukrainian government. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau previously confirmed that a criminal case had been opened concerning alleged misuse of state funds; upon her appointment to the role of ambassador, the case was suspended on procedural grounds and did not result in a conviction.

UOJ received reports that the intervention of Luna had caused the local government to pause, reaching out to UOC authorities to seek a "peaceful resolution." This is when Anatolii Mykhailiuk, head of the agricultural cooperative “Kuzmynskyi” and one of the district’s largest entrepreneurs, stepped in. According to local sources, Mykhailiuk and his son are pressuring employees to participate in the seizure of the Kuzmyn parish or lose their jobs.

Representative Luna's most recent post does not make clear which members of Congress might attend the proposed meeting.  The exchange highlights increasing tension between Washington and Kyiv as the persecution of the UOC becomes more visible. With the International Religious Freedom Summit taking place in Washington February 2-3, 2026, the timing for Kyiv couldn't be worse. 

Recently, UOJ-USA reported on the eviction of UOC nuns from the Baturyn St. Nicholas Convent (UOC), an action the Abbess says was carried out without a court order.

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