Sergey Lavrov's recent statements indicate that the Kremlin is still relying on longstanding false narratives that claim the Ukrainian government suppresses religious freedoms. This justification is being used to support its ongoing war against Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
This was reported by NV.
On April 22, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made several statements during an Easter reception attended by diplomats and church leaders.
In his speech, he stated that one of Russia's war goals in Ukraine is to protect the "honor and dignity" of Russian citizens, which he claimed includes their right to use the Russian language and practice the Orthodox faith. Lavrov accused Ukraine of persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) for over a decade, alleging that Ukrainian authorities have been "seizing churches" and "attacking" UOC MP clergy and parishioners.
Lavrov further accused the Ukrainian government of engaging in "legalized sacrilege" regarding the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. He intensified his propaganda rhetoric, claiming this persecution occurs with the "connivance, even direct support, of various European countries, where, let's be frank, Satanism is also flourishing."
In response to Lavrov's statements, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) highlighted that the UOC-MP is a Kremlin-controlled branch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and not an independent religious organization in Ukraine.
Analysts point out that the Kremlin has long used claims about the alleged discrimination of Russian people, the Russian language, and the ROC in Ukraine as a justification for invading Ukraine and for its continued refusal to engage in good-faith peace negotiations. In reality, the Russian Orthodox Church is notably an element of Russia's hybrid warfare toolkit, particularly in the Kremlin's efforts to promote Kremlin narratives and Russian nationalist ideology to sustain and expand Russia's influence in former Soviet states and justify its war-making initiatives. The ROC has also advocated for the codification of a Russian state ideology premised on the idea that Ukraine should not exist.
Moreover, in the territories occupied by Russia, there has been widespread persecution of religious minorities, including Orthodox Christians, as part of its wider campaign aimed at systematically destroying independent Ukrainian national and religious identities. Russian occupation authorities regularly conduct arbitrary detention and assassinations of Ukrainian clergy or religious leaders and loot, desecrate, and deliberately destroy places of worship, according to the ISW.
Therefore, Lavrov's April 22 claims demonstrate the Kremlin's continued commitment to its original war aims and disinterest in negotiations to end the war, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War.