Deferral from Mobilization for Clergy: How Many Priests in Ukraine Have Exemptions

In Ukraine, 6,500 clergy members have been exempted from mobilization.

This was reported by Viktor Yelensky, the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, as conveyed by "Interfax-Ukraine."

According to him, out of the 35,000 religious organizations existing in Ukraine, just over 10,000 are currently classified as critical infrastructure.

"Leaders of religious organizations and priests working within these organizations can receive a deferral from mobilization through exemptions. There are 6,500 such priests who have been exempted," said Yelensky.

At the same time, he emphasized that religious organizations affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) cannot be classified as strategic, and their priests cannot receive exemptions.

Yelensky noted that according to sociological research, 25% of surveyed Ukrainians believe that priests should serve in the army just like all other men. Another 44% believe that there should be exceptions for the clergy, specifically that priests cannot be combatants.

It is worth recalling that in May, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience approved an updated list of 10,922 religious organizations recognized as critically important for the functioning of the economy.

Previously, the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCRC) explained whether clerics of the UOC Moscow Patriarchate would be mobilized.