With Russian forces grinding away on their eastern border, Iranian drones targeting apartment buildings and hospitals in Ukrainian cities, and North Korea sending more and more troops to fight alongside Russia, why did Ukrainian Evangelical Christians come en masse to Washington, DC for the International Religious Freedom Summit in February?
Because as much as Ukraine is suffering, believers in occupied Ukraine are suffering more. Ukrainian Christians who lived through both the Soviet Union and the current Russian occupation of Ukraine say that the Soviets were easier on Christians.
One of the most searing memories of my Christian upbringing was of missionaries coming to our church, telling harrowing tales of smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union and believers being taken to Gulags for their faith. My childhood imagination could almost smell the evil stench of the KGB from the fourth-row pew.
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In my mind, nothing could be worse for Christians than the Soviet Union. Inspired by the courage of the missionaries from my youth, I went to Ukraine last fall with a documentary film team to tell the stories of Ukrainian Christians who suffer so greatly to worship God the same way I do.
Russian forces have killed 49 faith leaders in occupied Ukraine, while dozens more are being starved and beaten in Russian prison camps. More than 630 places of worship lie in ruins in Ukraine — shelled, looted, or destroyed. The Russian security services have shut down every church in occupied Ukraine they do not control and are imprisoning believers simply for holding Bible studies in their homes.
Why don’t most Americans know this?
Powerful forces are arrayed against believers in Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has declared a Holy War on Ukraine and the West. He has told Russian soldiers that if they die fighting in Ukraine, all their sins will be washed away. Googling “Russian orthodox priests blessing tanks” will show dozens of photos of bearded men in black robes sprinkling holy water on weapons of war.
A significant number of conservative influencers who you would want to listen to on most issues are flat wrong about Ukraine’s Christians. The Russians are running a propaganda campaign trying to cover up their torture and oppression of Ukraine’s Christians. Right now, Russian money is employing lobbyists on Capitol Hill to mislead members of Congress about the source of persecution of Christians in Ukraine.
Our movie, A Faith Under Siege, tells the stories of these courageous Ukrainian believers. Pastor Oleh from Kherson has lost three vans to Russian drones that stalked him coming out of church services. He says he does not leave because “God has not released me.”
Another believer told us of being held in a basement and tortured for 25 days by the Russians, including one day when a Russian Orthodox priest tried to cast demons out of him for being an Evangelical Christian.
One of the most heart-wrenching and inspiring stories comes from Serhii, a Ukrainian Baptist. An Iranian drone attack on his apartment took the lives of his wife Anna and infant son Timofey. Just weeks after this tragedy, Serhii traveled to Washington to advocate for his country to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
We premiered the trailer for “A Faith Under Siege” at the International Religious Freedom Summit earlier this month and will be premiering the full film soon. Our intention with the film is to fight the propaganda out there on the subject — not with more propaganda — but with true stories directly from the very Christians who have suffered in this war.
Steven Moore is a former chief of staff in the U.S. House of Representatives who has spent most of his time in Ukraine since day five of the way. He leads the Ukraine Freedom Project (UFP), which has delivered 250 tons of food, medical supplies, body armor, and other critical aid to the front.
Colby Barrett JD, PE, is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, and former U.S. Marine Corps Captain who let infantry and scout/sniper platoons in the Pacific Rim and Middle East.
