Russia is systematically destroying churches, synagogues, and mosques in Ukraine, killing clergy and deporting children, mirroring Nazi tactics aimed at erasing the religious identity of communities.
Forbes cites Mercedes Sapuppo, a researcher at the Atlantic Council, as reported by Espreso.
Under Hitler, the Nazis destroyed churches, synagogues, and targeted religious leaders throughout occupied Europe in an effort to break the spiritual backbone of the populations and erase their identities. According to Sapuppo, Putin is following a similar pattern.
The first step is the attack on symbols. Russia has already struck more than 500 cultural and religious sites in Ukraine. Next comes the elimination of community leaders: over 50 Ukrainian priests have been killed, while hundreds more have been abducted, tortured, or have disappeared in the occupied territories. Finally, there is the forced assimilation of the next generation, which includes the deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children — a practice explicitly classified as genocide by the Rome Statute of the ICC.
The parallel between these two situations is not just conceptual but literal. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was first destroyed during the Nazi occupation of Kyiv 85 years ago. Russia’s recent attack on the Dormition Cathedral mirrors this scenario precisely.
Sapuppo also highlights the role of Patriarch Kirill, who publicly framed the invasion as a “holy war,” just as the Nazis used ideological justifications to persecute churches and synagogues across Europe.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot compared the attack on the Lavra to the bombing of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte described the attacks as “brutal acts of a weakened Russia.” In the U.S., lawmakers have introduced a bill titled “Countering Russia’s War on Faith Act,” which requires the State Department to monitor attacks on religious sites and calls for sanctions against Russian officials responsible for these attacks.
Sapuppo warns that strikes on religious sites form part of Russia’s extensive “toolbox of warfare,” and NATO must be prepared for this.