Christian organisation Mission Eurasia, along with the Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF) of Ukraine, recently launched the Faith under fire report, on the situation of religious freedom in the country amidst the war with Russia.

The report “highlights a dire situation that demands immediate global attention and action”, and documents it, “providing hard-hitting evidence of the devastation wrought over the past 21 months”.

It reveals “a shocking reality where religious communities and affiliated structures are systematically targeted, seized, and destroyed while religious freedoms are severely restricted, all exacerbated by the ongoing brutal war”, point out the authors.

Over 200 evangelical places of worship destroyed

According to the report, at least 630 places of worship have been destroyed or damaged, including over 600 Christian churches, of which 206 were evangelical.

Most of the destruction of church buildings was the result of Russian missiles, drones and artillery, but “every week, new reports emerge about the looting or occupation of another church by Russian soldiers, to be misused as military bases or as hiding places for firing positions”, the report states.

The largest number of churches, prayer houses, synagogues, and mosques were destroyed in the region of Donetsk (at least 146), Luhansk (at least 83), and Kherson (at least 78).

Ban on religious activity

The report recalls that at the beginning of the invasion, Russian soldiers paid no attention to places of worship because they did not consider them to be “independent and influential participants in civil society, but just humanitarian hubs”.

However, around May-June of 2022 Russian soldiers put a total ban on humanitarian aid coming from territories controlled by the Ukrainian government, so that Ukrainian churches were no longer able to actively help those in need as they did before.

After that, the report says, Russian soldiers started to raid prayer houses, often during church services. They “conducted searches, made lists of the church members who were present, and collected their personal and biometric information, which they used for further surveillance”.

The Russian military also demanded “current activity plans from some churches: what events will be organized during the week, who will be responsible, and sermon notes for the upcoming service”, and “could forbid a church service if they disliked or were bothered by a particular activity”, explains the report.

Repressions occurred both in cities and in small villages. They were directed against churches of all denominations. The only exceptions were the parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, on the condition that their priests affirm their loyalty to the occupation authorities.

Persecution of religious leaders

In April of 2023, the Institute for the Study of War reported that since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have killed or kidnapped at least 29 priests or religious leaders.

According to Mission Eurasia “new evidence of the abuse, humiliation, and torture of priests, pastors, and other religious figures in Ukrainian territories controlled by Russia is constantly coming from various denominations”.

“It can now be asserted that repressions of religious figures by the Russian occupation authorities are increasingly brutal and systemic. The danger for church ministers in occupied territories is growing”, they add.

The Russian government justifies that violence by allegations of supposed “extremist activities” against the Yarovaya Law of 2016, which banned activities of minority faith groups like evangelical churches.

Recommendations

The report concludes proposing 12 recommendations, “in order to respond to the arbitrary actions of the Russian authorities in the occupied territories of Ukraine”.

The measures “aimed at ending the oppression of religious minorities, bringing guilty persons to justice, and providing assistance to religious communities in survival situations”.

You can read the full report here.