Bishop Savva of Zelenograd, Deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, pointed out western Ukraine's attempts to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

Volodymyr Remenyak, Head of the Gorodok City Council in the Lviv Region, signed a decree which was later published on Facebook. The document, dated February 28, is called "On the prohibition of the activities of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of the Gorodok City Council in the Lviv region." The activity of the canonical Church in the decree is described as "presenting a danger to the national security of Ukraine."

Commenting on this decision, as well as on the appeals of some members of the clergy directed against the unity of the canonical Church in Russia and Ukraine, Bishop Sava says that the appeals against the unity of the ROC and the UOC voiced by several priests, are also due to "old, but hitherto hidden convictions and practices, against unity." "It is known that some clergy, calling for the termination of the commemoration of His Holiness the Patriarch, already used to do so for quite some time," the bishop explained.

In addition, the speeches of opponents of unity, in his opinion, may be due to "an emotional state". "Metropolitan Luka of Zaporozhye spoke wisely about the need to preserve church unity. Now is the time for priests not to get involved in church disputes . . . but to do what the Holy Patriarch has called us to do: pray for the speedy restoration of peace and help the victims as much as possible," Bishop Savva concluded.