Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian churches have endured numerous attacks against their congregations. According to The Institute for the Study of War, Russian soldiers have committed at least 76 acts of religious persecution against Christians and killed or captured 29 religious leaders. The Institute for Religious Freedom reports that over 500 religious sites have been destroyed, looted or damaged.

In the eastern, Russian-occupied territories especially, religion is akin to a political weapon for the advancing army. The Russian Yarovaya Law, signed in 2016, requires that all religious affiliations under Russia’s authority must be registered with the state. However, ‘undesirable’ organizations, including several branches of Christianity, are often denied registration and left subject to persecution. 

Many pastors have refused to register their congregations, leading to horrific consequences. Sergey Rakhuba, a Ukrainian who now runs a nonprofit in Texas, told the Washington Times that a pastor in southern Ukraine was found dead three days after resisting registration. 

“That’s the tactic of intimidation,” he explained. “Then, when they come to other churches, pastors already know what they’re capable of, and that’s how they force them to cooperate.”

A similar tragedy struck Elena Velichko’s community in eastern Ukraine. On Pentecost Sunday, armed pro-Russian rebels captured four men from her church, including her husband and the pastor’s sons, as they left the service. The rebels then took them outside the city to torture and murder them. 

On the same day, a factory belonging to the pastor was burnt to the ground, sending a clear threat to the evangelical community. 

“I never thought in the 21st century, in [a] free country as Ukraine, it was possible to experience this level of persecution,” Sergey Demidovich, an evangelical leader in southern Ukraine, told CBN News. 

As Russian forces persistently target churches, Christians find themselves scattered, disconnected, and grieving the losses they’ve had to endure so far. Ukrainian believers have fled all over the globe, with only Zoom services and encrypted WhatsApp messages to help them stay in contact. 

Even so, hope persists among believers as they cling to their faith and the belief that God is in control. Despite all she’s been through, Velichko is among those who continue to trust in the Lord’s strength. 

“People often ask me how I am doing. I tell them about a mighty God who can heal our hearts,” she said. “Maybe not as quickly as we would like it, but the process is going on, and the prayers of people around the world help.”