IRFBA – The Article 18 Alliance Chair Statement; Three Years of the Devastating Impact of the Russian War on Ukrainian Individuals and Faith Communities

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has inflicted devastating damage on individuals, faith communities, and religious institutions across the nation. Since the invasion's onset, three years ago, Russian forces have killed 67 priests, pastors, and ministers from various Ukrainian religious organizations, with some clergy members murdered while performing their church duties. 

Among the fallen was Father Maksym Kozachyna, rector of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parishes in Rozvazhiv and Ivankiv, Kyiv region. On February 26, 2022, the 43-year-old Orthodox Church of Ukraine chaplain was stopped at the enemy checkpoint while returning to his family after service. Witnesses report that Russian militants removed Father Maksym from his vehicle and executed him, despite his clearly visible religious attire and Orthodox cross. The occupiers prevented the recovery of his body for several days. He was ultimately laid to rest in Ivankiv, beside the church he had built with his own hands. 

 On June 28, 2024, two Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Redemptorist priests were released from Russian captivity. Fathers Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Geleta, who served at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, had chosen to remain with their congregation in occupied territory following the invasion. They ministered to both Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic communities, providing hope to those under occupation. Russian forces arrested them on November 16, 2022, on fabricated weapons charges. Reports indicated they endured severe torture while being coerced to confess to crimes they did not commit. 

The physical destruction has been equally severe. Over three years of continuous invasion, Russian forces have damaged or destroyed more than 640 religious buildings, including 596 Christian churches. In a recent incident on the night of February 11-12, 2025, a Shahed drone strike near a Baptist church in Yahotyn, Kyiv region, shattered windows and doors in both the main sanctuary and Sunday school building. 

Russia's systematic exploitation of religion in its war against Ukraine represents an escalating threat to religious freedom, human rights, and international law. 

In occupied territories, Russian authorities have implemented systematic religious repression targeting not only groups banned under Russian law but all religious organizations independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) functions as an instrument of state power, openly supporting Russian aggression and participating in military recruitment. 

The occupation authorities have forcibly incorporated eight eparchies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, comprising more than 1,600 parishes and 23 monasteries, into the ROC. All Orthodox Church of Ukraine communities in Crimea have been liquidated and their churches seized. In June 2024, occupation authorities demolished the last OCU church in Crimea. 

Crimean Muslims, particularly representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, face severe persecution, with joint prayer used as a pretext for repression. The occupation authorities conduct regular searches of Crimean Tatar homes and religious communities. Protestant churches in Crimea are being confiscated and repurposed for administrative use. 

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented numerous violations, including torture of Greek Catholic priests in occupied Donetsk detention centers. The European Court of Human Rights has recognized Russia's systematic violation of religious freedom, while the European Parliament has condemned the use of Orthodox religion as an instrument of political influence. 

In occupied territories, authorities have introduced mandatory religious education promoting Russian culture while suppressing Ukrainian identity. In Zaporizhzhia, ROC priests distribute literature promoting military recruitment and denying Ukraine's existence as a nation. Children's paramilitary organizations have been established with ROC participation in occupied Melitopol. 

The systematic exploitation of religion in Russia's war against Ukraine represents a grave threat not only to religious freedom but to fundamental human rights and international law. Thus, immediate and decisive international actions are essential to address these violations and support Ukraine's sovereignty and its traditional religious pluralism. 

I, as the Chair of the Article 18 Alliance, call upon the international community to condemn these flagrant human rights violations in the temporarily occupied- territories of Ukraine, and increase pressure on Russian authorities, intensify efforts to bring perpetrators of crimes against Ukrainian individuals and faith communities to justice.