U.S. Lawmaker Again Condemns Ukraine Over Persecution of Christians
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says U.S. funding enables abuses against believers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) on Tuesday issued renewed criticism of Ukrainian authorities, accusing them of persecuting Christians and arguing that U.S. financial support makes Washington complicit.
“So tell me: how is the U.S. not funding the persecution of Christians in Ukraine when we’re literally giving money to the government carrying it out? Stop sending American tax dollars to Ukraine.” Luna wrote in a rhetorical post on her X account.
Her comments followed two earlier posts on Monday, in which she cited reports of "church raids, clergy detentions, and state pressure on certain Christian denominations in Ukraine." This is in reference to increased pressure on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by government authorities and supporters of the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
"Yes, the same Ukraine that Congress keeps writing blank checks to," the congresswoman added. "If a government is jailing Christians, why are we STILL sending them hundreds of millions with no oversight? Stop the funding. Demand accountability."
In another post on Monday, Rep. Luna said that the U.S. government should not be giving $400 million to Ukraine when President Volodomyr Zelensky refuses to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump on the proposed peace deal.
"The Ukrainian government was just busted for public corruption, and you can guarantee money laundering is involved," she said. "The fact that Congress is still sending them funding is horrifying. This needs to be taken out of the NDAA."
Luna has previously urged the Biden administration and Congress to condition aid to Ukraine on assurances of religious freedom protections. She also met with a pan-Orthodox delegation hoping to spread awareness of the persecution of the UOC on Capitol Hill in November.
UOJ has also reported on the ongoing $100 million corruption scandal currently threatening the Zelensky regime in Ukraine.
