Russian occupants killed 67 priests and destroyed more than 600 churches - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported the deaths of 67 clergymen and the destruction of more than 630 religious buildings at the hands of the Russian occupiers. The occupation authorities ban the activities of religious organizations not affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported massive violations of religious freedom in the TOT by the Russian occupation authorities. In particular, 67 clergymen have been killed by the occupiers since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and more than 630 prayer buildings have been destroyed. This was reported by Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi during a briefing, according to a correspondent of UNN.
Details
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 67 ministers of various Ukrainian churches and religious organizations have been killed by Russian occupiers. More than 630 places of worship and places of religious worship in Ukraine, including churches, mosques, synagogues, and prayer houses, have been destroyed or damaged by Russian shelling.
"The Russian occupation administrations have launched a massive use of repressive practices against not only the Jehovah's Witnesses and Tahrir, which are prohibited by Russian law, but also all other religious organizations that are not affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. All of this has led to a rapid decline in religious freedom in the territories not controlled by the government of Ukraine," Tikhiy said.
In addition, among the banned organizations were those involved in humanitarian aid, such as the Knights of Columbus and the Caritas Foundation.
The MFA called on the international community to pay attention to these egregious human rights violations, strengthen sanctions against Russia and intensify efforts to bring those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.
"Despite the military realities, Ukraine continues to make every effort to protect and promote religious freedom and strictly adheres to international law governing freedom of religion and belief. We call on the international community to respond appropriately to the systematic human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, to increase sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation, and to intensify efforts to bring to justice all those responsible for the crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. And I appeal to international partners to actively support Ukraine's struggle for a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Recall
Earlier UNN wrote that the Russian occupiers killed 50 priests and destroyed about 700 churches in Ukraine. The priests were tortured for refusing to serve the Moscow Patriarchate.
