Russia is waging a brutal war against Christian believers in Ukraine, and the world needs to wake up. Putin’s forces have murdered at least 47 pastors and priests since the invasion began in 2022. They have destroyed over 650 churches and houses of worship across the country.
The evil doesn’t stop there. Russian soldiers are specifically hunting down evangelical Christians who refuse to bow to Moscow’s control. These brave believers are being tortured, kidnapped, and killed simply for their faith. Some victims have been subjected to mock exorcisms by Russian Orthodox priests working hand in hand with Putin’s thugs.
What makes this even more disgusting is how Russia justifies these attacks. The Russian Orthodox Church has declared this a “holy war” against Ukraine and the West. Church leaders loyal to Moscow are telling Russian soldiers that all their sins will be forgiven if they die fighting Ukrainians.
This isn’t really about religion at all. It’s about Putin’s desperate attempt to crush anyone who won’t submit to his iron fist. Evangelical Christians represent freedom and independence, two things that terrify dictators like Putin. That’s why his forces call these faithful pastors “American spies” before torturing them.
The numbers tell a horrifying story that the mainstream media largely ignores. Over 30 religious leaders have been killed or kidnapped since the war started. More than 600 houses of worship have been wiped off the map. Thousands of Christians have fled Russian-occupied areas to escape persecution.
Evangelicals and Baptists are getting hit the hardest because they won’t bend the knee to Putin’s puppet church. Of the 400 Baptist congregations in Ukraine, 17 percent have been lost under Russian control. These communities represented decades of faithful service to their neighbors.
Putin’s Russia has become more brutal than even the old Soviet Union when it comes to crushing religious freedom. Jehovah’s Witnesses now get longer prison sentences than they did under Communist rule. The regime fears faith because it represents something they can never control.
America must stand with Ukraine’s persecuted Christians and call out this evil for what it is. Religious freedom is a God-given right that no dictator should be allowed to destroy. Putin’s war on faith shows exactly what kind of monster we’re dealing with.
