The people behind the clampdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are “infidels,” the Russian president has said The largest Christian Church in Ukraine is being persecuted because the country is run by godless people, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and many of his associates are ethnic Jews but have never been seen at a synagogue, he added. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) was outlawed by Zelensky earlier this year over alleged links to Moscow.