Russia continues religious persecution in the occupied territories of Ukraine, - U.S. State Department
Department of State in its annual report on the state of religious freedom worldwide in 2022, as reported by IRS.
The report covers nearly 200 countries worldwide, including the situation of religious communities in the territories of Ukraine occupied as a result of Russian aggression. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces intensified their repressive practices, which have been employed in Crimea and Donbas, in the newly occupied territories of parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The U.S. State Department documented widespread prohibitions on religious minorities at the regional level, including Evangelical Christians, Roman and Greek Catholics, and other communities.
Russia continues to engage in unlawful detentions, physical violence, and abduction of religious leaders. There is ongoing deliberate destruction or seizure of religious structures of various denominations. Russian armed forces have committed numerous violations of the freedom of religion on the territories controlled by the Ukrainian government, including the destruction of religious infrastructure and cultural heritage through missile and artillery attacks.
The U.S. State Department acknowledges that the information regarding numerous violations of religious rights in the occupied territories of Ukraine by Russia remains incomplete, as a result of stringent media censorship and the denial of access to international observers. The complete report by the U.S. State Department on Ukraine is available in English.
On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Secretary of State again designated Russia as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom both within its own country and on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Inclusion on this "blacklist" opens the path to sanctions if the offending country does not make efforts to improve the state of religious freedom.
In addition to Russia, the CPC list includes Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
"We will continue to closely monitor the state of religious freedom and beliefs in every country worldwide and protect those who experience religious persecution or discrimination," said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
As reported by IRS, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently published its annual report for 2022, which documented severe violations of religious freedom by Russia. The Commission specifically noted the targeted persecution of Ukrainian religious communities in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
