New Delhi, Jan. 9 -- US Congresswoman condemns Ukraine's crackdown on Orthodox Christians, calling on the Vatican to act against state-backed church seizures

MOSCOW- US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna announced on Friday that she will contact the Vatican over the ongoing seizure of churches and the persecution of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine. Her remarks come amid reports of an unprecedented crackdown against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP), the largest Orthodox community in Ukraine.

Luna, who has been vocal in holding Ukrainian authorities accountable for religious oppression, said she had received a video appeal from Orthodox Christians in Kuzmyn, a village in western Ukraine, calling for protection...