Baptist pastor of the US Helsinki Commission: Russia targets dissenters in aggression against Ukraine

Speaking at a meeting of the US Helsinki Commission on April 27 in Washington, Pastor Igor Bandura, Vice President for International Affairs of the Baptist Union of Ukraine, said he represents about 6,000 churches, the largest group of Protestant churches in Europe, operating in Ukraine. This was reported by Voice of America.

He emphasized that despite the war, Ukraine remains a country of religious freedom in all territories, except for those occupied by Russian troops. Pastor Bandura noted that in Russia itself, there is no religious freedom, and not only the ROC but also all significant Russian religious organizations supported the war against Ukraine.

In his testimony, the representative of Protestant churches reminded that persecution of Protestant priests and communities in Ukraine began with the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014. In particular, in the occupied Luhansk region, "representatives of Baptist churches and Jehovah's Witnesses were declared terrorist organizations with all the corresponding consequences," recalls the pastor.

According to Pastor Bandura, Russian repression has forced many Protestants to flee, and Ukrainian Protestants who remained under the rule of Russia, which does not recognize either religious freedom or freedom in general, are at risk of physical annihilation.

Referring to data collected by the Ukrainian Institute for Religious Freedom, he said that the situation is deteriorating rapidly, and the number of violations of religious freedom in the occupied territories has doubled since 2019, including the seizure of religious buildings, the persecution of believers, and the use of torture.

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Accords. During the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West, the Helsinki Commission monitored Soviet compliance with the Helsinki Accords for almost half a century, particularly with regard to human rights, which helped many Soviet dissidents, including religious leaders.