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Russian propaganda frequently promotes false claims of religious persecution in Ukraine as a means to legitimize its invasion. In truth, Ukraine upholds freedom of religion, and any limitations are directed solely at groups that support Russia’s war or pose a threat to national security.
Read more about this in the article by Valentyn Gladkykh, political analyst, expert at the United Ukraine Think Tank for The Gaze.
Firstly, Valentyn Gladkykh argues that to justify its aggression—not just against Ukraine, but more broadly—the Kremlin has consistently relied on claims that certain communities, especially in post-Soviet states, are being oppressed on ethnic, linguistic, or religious grounds. Using this narrative, Russia portrays itself as a defender of these groups—whom it alternately labels as “compatriots,” “Russian speakers,” or “Orthodox believers”—and claims it must intervene in other countries’ internal affairs to protect their rights. To support this narrative, Moscow spreads a grossly distorted version of reality through its information campaigns. In this sense, Putin’s regime bears a troubling resemblance to Hitler’s, which used similar rhetoric to justify invasions of sovereign nations.
More recently, Russian propaganda has made concerted efforts to misrepresent the state of religious and church-state relations in Ukraine. Sadly, these false portrayals sometimes make their way into respected international media and are echoed by some European and American politicians—resulting in misleading headlines like “Christians are being persecuted in Ukraine” or unfounded claims that the Orthodox Church is banned there.
Secondly, political analyst explains that in reality, Ukraine’s Constitution and current laws guarantee every citizen the right to freedom of conscience. This includes the freedom to adopt, change, and practice any religion—or none at all—either individually or with others, to perform religious rites, and to freely express and share one’s religious or atheistic beliefs. Ukraine’s strong commitment to religious freedom is reflected in the presence of more than 37,000 registered religious organizations, representing over 90 different faiths and spiritual movements. The vast majority—97%—are Christian, with Orthodox (53.7%), Protestant (nearly 29%), and Catholic (14.3%) communities making up the largest groups. Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and various new religious movements are also present.
Contrary to Russian propaganda, Ukraine’s legal framework for regulating religious organizations aligns with democratic principles seen in many rule-of-law countries. Religious freedom is protected, but like in other democracies, it may be limited only in cases necessary to uphold public safety, order, health, morals, or the rights and freedoms of others—strictly as defined by law.
Religious organizations, even in the freest societies, must operate within the legal system regardless of their beliefs. If they violate national laws, authorities have the right to impose restrictions, following legally established procedures. Such action may be warranted if a religious organization’s activities—whether ritualistic or through preaching—threaten life, health, dignity, or public order, or encourage citizens to disobey constitutional duties or infringe on the rights or property of others. This approach is consistent with the principles outlined by the European Parliament in its resolution of February 12, 1996.
Thirdly, the expert supports his arguments with the following considerations. Even in the most democratic countries—where religious freedom is strongly protected—there are still legal grounds for restricting or banning the activities of certain religious organizations if their actions violate national laws, incite violence or hatred, infringe on human rights, or use religious status as a cover for activities that threaten public safety or national security.
From this perspective, it is entirely reasonable for Ukraine to prohibit the operation of religious groups that reject Ukrainian state sovereignty, promote ethnic or religious hatred, call for the genocide of Ukrainians, seek to erase Ukrainian language, culture, and identity, advocate for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, or justify Russia’s war of aggression by glorifying its war crimes and blessing the weapons used to commit them.
Based on these criteria, Ukraine adopted the Law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations,” which specifically bans the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church within Ukrainian territory. Article 3 of this law clearly states: “Recognizing that the Russian Orthodox Church is an ideological extension of the aggressor state’s regime, and an accomplice to war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out in the name of the Russian Federation and the ideology of the ‘Russian world,’ the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine are hereby prohibited.”
Finally, the author summarizes that in essence, for religious organizations to operate freely in Ukraine, they simply need to avoid affiliation with foreign religious bodies banned in the country, refrain from promoting the ideology of the “Russian world,” and not support Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine. Yet, Russian propagandists—and, unfortunately, some journalists and politicians who echo their narrative—portray these basic legal requirements as religious persecution, violations of freedom of conscience, or even a ban on the “Orthodox Church.” In reality, however, these are not restrictions on faith, but straightforward conditions ensuring that religious organizations do not justify or participate in Russian war crimes.
Read the full article by Valentyn Gladkykh on The Gaze: How Russia Twists Religion to Justify War: The Fake Narrative of Persecution in Ukraine
Read also: Ukraine’s Reconstruction: A Test of Western Commitment and Internal Reform
