Work on the draft law has been ongoing since the Council's work was blocked, according to Stefanchuk.
"Just yesterday around 2 a.m., we completed all consultations, and this morning the committee reviewed and adopted the updated version. It's fortunate we had time to refine it, as we implemented many legislative amendments to ensure this law will work. The worst outcome would be to hastily pass an imperfect law that won't be effective," Stefanchuk said.
He added that religious organizations suspected of cooperating with the Russian Orthodox Church will be scrutinized accordingly.
"Experts will determine if there are signs of affiliation," the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada noted.
On Aug. 16, the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy recommended that the Verkhovna Rada pass the draft law in its second reading to prohibit the activities of religious organizations associated with the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
The draft law to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine
On the same day, European Solidarity MP Oleksiy Goncharenko reported that lawmakers blocked the Verkhovna Rada's rostrum with posters, demanding consideration of a draft law to ban religious organizations, which would effectively halt the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in Ukraine.
The draft law to ban the UOC-MP was not added to the agenda, as the Servant of the People faction and former OPZZ deputies voted against it.
On May 21, European Solidarity deputies also blocked the rostrum, demanding the draft law be considered. Parliamentarians then agreed at a conciliation council that the draft would be put to a vote once 226 signatures were collected.