Commentary for The Christian Post on Kremlin-directed religious persecution in Ukraine

Kremlin-directed religious persecution only increased following the February 2022 invasion. American pre-war intelligence indicated religious minorities were one of the vulnerable populations that Russian authorities planned to target — a charge vindicated by subsequent events. According to Dr. Maksym Vasin, Executive Director of Kyiv-based Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF), “The Russian military purposefully attacked, illegally imprisoned, interrogated, or captured at least 50 Ukrainian religious figures. However, this number may be several times higher” and “at least 500 churches and religious sites were destroyed in Ukraine during the year of the full-scale Russian invasion.”
A report published by the IRF in September 2022 documents multiple cases where religious leaders were detained by Russian authorities, subjected to violent torture, and threatened with execution. The report also documented how Catholic, Non-Moscow affiliated Orthodox churches, and Protestant churches were deliberately attacked and vandalized, with religious materials destroyed by Russian-aligned forces. Further, Catholic priests in Berdiansk were arrested by the Russian authorities for alleged “subversive” and “guerilla” activities, charges the Donetsk Exarchate vigorously denies.
Given the genocidal policies undertaken by occupying Russian forces and the denial of the existence of the Ukrainian nation, the persecution of Ukrainian religious communities is not surprising. According to Dr. Vasin, “Russian military and FSB agents (successors of the KGB) seem to enjoy torturing and ruling over the lives of captured Ukrainian religious figures. Evangelical Christians slandered as “sectarians” and “American spies” especially suffer from targeted Russian repression. Religious leaders and other public figures who manifest Ukrainian identity are also brutally treated.”
If you shall know them by their fruit, then the Putin regime is rotten. A regime that’s threatened by Baptist bible translations and Billy Graham tracts should be disdained, not admired. It’s a regime that perceives religious freedom as a threat because it undermines its control over society. In the end, Putin’s rhetorical argument about defending traditional values is a veil designed to mask Russian imperial ambitions, consolidate power through religious persecution, hide the flaws within the regime, and justify its actions on the international stage. Individuals who believe in traditional values should not follow the lead of a charlatan.