President cheers as Ukraine on cusp of church independence

FILE PHOTO - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a parliament session to review his proposal to introduce martial law after Russia seized Ukrainian naval ships off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea, in Kiev, Ukraine November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday Ukraine was on the cusp of securing its own independent church, snapping centuries-old ties to a Russian clergy that Kiev accuses of meddling in its affairs.

Poroshenko's comments came after the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, home to the global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, announced it had drafted a constitutional charter for an "autocephalous", or self-governing, Ukrainian church.