Russia killing clergy, banning religions in occupied Ukraine, says foreign minister

(OSV News) -- Since the start of their February 2022 full-scale invasion, Russian forces have killed close to 70 clergy and destroyed more than 630 places of worship in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's ministry of foreign affairs.

The ministry, led by Andrii Sybiha, issued a Jan. 10 statement saying Russia's invasion "has had a devastating impact on religious freedom" in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Russian occupation authorities "relentlessly restrict the activities of all religious organizations that maintain an independent stance or support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, grossly violating the rights of believers and the fundamental principles of freedom of conscience enshrined in international law," said the statement.

Sybiha's office urged "the international community to strongly condemn these flagrant human rights violations, particularly the right to freedom of conscience, in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation."

In addition, the Jan. 10 statement called upon nations to "strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation and increase pressure on Russian authorities," and to "intensify efforts to bring to justice all those responsible for the crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity."

Russia's invasion -- which continues attacks launched in 2014 -- has been declared a genocide in two joint reports from the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights.

So far, the full-scale invasion has resulted in the deaths of 67 religious leaders from various faiths, some of whom have been killed "even while performing their sacred duties," said the statement.

Russian occupation authorities "have systematically repressed religious freedom, targeting not only denominations banned by Russian law, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Hizb ut-Tahrir, but also all religious organizations independent of the Moscow Patriarchate" of the Russian Orthodox Church, said the ministry.

In December 2022, Russian occupation officials formally banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in occupied territories and forcibly expelled clergy in a breach of international law.

Two UGCC priests, Redemptorist Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta were abducted from their parish, the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Berdyansk, and were imprisoned and tortured for 18 months. The priests were among 10 prisoners returned to Ukrainian authorities in June 2024.

In a post-release interview with the UGCC's Zhyve TV channel, Father Geleta confirmed that he and Father Levitsky had been subjected to both psychological and physical torture at the hands of Russian forces.

Also banned by Russian occupation officials, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, are the Knights of Columbus and multiple Caritas organizations, part of the universal Catholic Church's worldwide humanitarian network, that have been providing spiritual and material assistance in Ukraine.

The Russian ban said the Knights of Columbus were "associated with the intelligence services of the United States and the Vatican."

Along with the prohibitions, "numerous Christian religious communities within the temporarily occupied territories have been forcibly compelled to submit to the de jure 'religious' organization, the Russian Orthodox Church, which in reality serves as an instrument of Russian state power," said the ministry.

In March 2024, the Russian Orthodox Church declared Russia's war on Ukraine as a "Holy War," with Russia, "defending the single spiritual space of Holy Rus'" is "protecting the world from the onslaught of globalism and the victory of the West that has fallen into Satanism."

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, told believers in a September 2022 sermon that Russian forces killed in Ukraine will have "all sins" washed away by their deaths.

"The Russian Orthodox Church is not just under the control of the government; it is part of the government. … Patriarch Kirill is more an official of the Kremlin regime than a real Christian leader," said Archbishop Yevstratiy Zorya, deputy head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine's Department of External Church Relations and a professor at the Kyiv (Orthodox) Theological Academy, in a June 2023 interview with OSV News.

As the former Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, Patriarch Kirill was reported to have worked with the Soviet Union's KGB intelligence service, particularly with respect to the World Council of Churches during the 1970s.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said in its statement that "the Russian Federation has long instrumentalized religion to advance its political and military objectives," with the Kremlin establishing "so-called 'religious centers'" on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate in occupied areas of Ukraine and "further weaponizing religion for its aggressive conquest policy."

Researcher Felix Corley of Forum 18 -- a news service that partners with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in defending freedom of religion, thought and conscience -- recently told OSV News that religious freedom in Russia itself is "growing ever tighter," with "new laws against -- well, everything, really," and targeted "at people who exercise freedom of religion or belief.

"Some of them target it more widely, but sort of catch religious communities and individuals in the sweep of the law," Corley explained. "Obviously, Russia is imposing these laws in the parts of Ukraine that they have illegally occupied."

"Despite the war conditions, Ukraine remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting and upholding religious freedom, adhering to the principles of international law that govern freedom of religion or belief," said Ukraine's foreign ministry in its statement.

"We appeal to all global partners to actively support Ukraine's struggle for a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace, the restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and the full re-establishment of the rule of law and human rights."