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Comment of the MFA of Ukraine on systematic violations of international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine
04 February 2025 21:10

On the eve of the U.S. Prayer Breakfast, which is an important platform for discussing human rights, religious freedom and interreligious dialogue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine once again highlights the serious violations of the rights to freedom of religion and religious activity in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia.

The Russian Federation and the Kremlin-affiliated Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) systematically violate international humanitarian law in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine. Under their patronage, these territories are subject to the forced subjugation of religious communities, repression of religious leaders and believers, destruction of independent religious structures, and propaganda of the ideas of the "Russian world."

The Russian Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church are pursuing a policy of exterminating religious diversity in the territories not controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The clergy and Christians of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Protestant, Catholic and Muslim communities are being persecuted. All OCU communities in Crimea have been liquidated and their churches were seized. Priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) who do not support the occupation authorities are also being persecuted. Criminal cases are initiated against them, and their homes are searched, and they are intimidated. 

Crimean Muslims - representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars - are being persecuted for their religious and national identity. The joint prayer of Muslims in Crimea is a pretext for the invader to repress them. Russian security forces conduct searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars and in the religious communities of Jehovah's Witnesses. Protestant churches are being confiscated and turned into administrative or "cultural" institutions.

It will be a year soon since the Russian occupiers in the Kherson region tortured to death a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Father Stepan Podolchak. He was killed for refusing to come under the "jurisdiction" of the Moscow church, which has been blessing Russian soldiers to kill in Ukraine. 

Since 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has regularly documented the impact of the illegal actions of the occupation authorities in Crimea on Christians and clergy of various religious communities. The 40th periodic report of the HRMMU cites the facts of the demolition of the last church of the OCU in Crimea in June 2024 by the occupation authorities based on the decision of so-called "Yevpatoria City Court", adopted in 2019. 

The 41st report of the mission documented cases of torture and abuse of Greek Catholic priests who have been imprisoned by the Russian occupation authorities in detention centers in the occupied territory of Donetsk region since November 2022. In December 2024, the HRMMU reported that representatives of various religious communities continue to be subjected to criminal prosecution and harsh prison sentences by the occupation courts in cases related to their religious activities.

The European Court of Human Rights has recognized that the Russian Federation systematically violates freedom of religion, persecutes religious minorities and confiscates religious property. The European Parliament in its resolution 2024/2988 (RSP) condemned the use of the Orthodox religion as an instrument of political influence by the Russian Federation. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in its resolution 2567 (2024) condemned the actions of the Russian Federation and its propaganda campaign aimed at legitimizing military aggression.

The UN General Assembly in its resolution 79/184 "Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol" condemned the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the occupation authorities, in particular the ongoing threats, persecution and pressure on religious minorities and communities in the TOT of Ukraine. 

The Russian Orthodox Church is an active participant in the implementation of the Kremlin's aggressive policy. Its functionaries conduct ideological work to destroy the Ukrainian national identity. Schools on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine have introduced the course under the title "Spiritual and Moral Foundations of Russian Culture". The compulsory meetings of ROC priests with young people are being conducted, which imposing Russian identity and disregard for Ukrainian culture.

In the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region, ROC priests distribute literature promoting recruitment to the Russian army, justifying the occupation, and denying the existence of the Ukrainian nation. In occupied Melitopol, children's paramilitary organizations with the participation of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have been created.

The Russian Orthodox Church seizes Ukrainian churches. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, 8 eparchies of the UOC, which have more than 1600 parishes and 23 monasteries, have been forcibly incorporated into the ROC. The Cathedral of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olga of the OCU in Simferopol was seized, and the last church of the OCU in Crimea, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, was dismantled.

The ROC supports Russian aggression, blesses the military, and supplies humanitarian aid to the Russian army. The priests of this church participate in mobilization activities, actively promote involvement in the war, and organize fundraisers for the needs of the occupation forces.

According to Ukrainian intelligence services, more than 1,300 ROC priests have been sent to the front, where they act as chaplains or representatives of Russian special services.  The Ukrainian Security Service has exposed the supply of attack drones to Russian troops through the "Crimean Metropolis" of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Russia continues to use religion as a tool of political propaganda and control over people living in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. 

Ukraine once again calls on the international community to tighten sanctions against religious structures that support the war and to continue further pressure on Russia to end the persecution of religious communities in the occupied territories.

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