The occupiers in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine systematically suppress religious communities. In particular, in Donbas, Protestant churches were turned into weapons depots, and clergymen were tortured and killed. This was reported by Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that priests who did not agree to cooperate with the occupiers were kidnapped, accused of espionage, and forced to make the necessary "confessions".
In Crimea, pressure methods included searches of mosques, criminal prosecutions for religious literature, and intimidation of imams.
Over the past three years, Russians have killed about fifty pastors in Ukraine, destroyed or damaged 630 churches
Podolyak added that since most Ukrainians are religious, the war is also a struggle for the right to freely believe and attend churches.
More than 70% of Ukrainians call themselves believers. So the Armed Forces are fighting not only for freedom, our homes and families, but also for religious freedom,
Giving up their territories would mean losing this freedom. Obviously, the Russian Orthodox Church is not a religion, but an ideological tool that justifies violence, mass murder and genocide, Podolyak said.
Recall
UNN wrote that the Russian Federation and the Kremlin-affiliated Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) systematically violate international humanitarian law in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.