On 24 August, Ukrainian Independence Day, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had signed Law No. 3894-IX banning the Russian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (ROC) as well as Ukrainian religious organisations affiliated with the ROC. The Law comes into force on 23 September. In his speech the same day he signed the Law, Zelensky stated that Ukrainian Orthodoxy had made a step "towards liberation from Moscow devils".