Dear Brother Archons and Friends of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
Longtime friend of the Archons and frequent participant in our international conferences on religious freedom, Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, has documented the systematic destruction of religious life and identity in Ukraine’s occupied territories during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, hundreds of churches, monasteries, mosques, synagogues, and other houses of worship have been damaged or destroyed, particularly in frontline and occupied regions. According to Ukrainian and independent monitoring groups, at least 737 religious sites have been affected, although the true number is likely higher because access to occupied territories remains limited.
The “Religion on Fire” project, established in 2022 by the NGO Workshop of Academic Religious Studies, reported by early 2026 that 742 religious sites and 11 religious educational institutions had been damaged or destroyed. The greatest devastation has occurred in the Donetsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Luhansk regions. Researchers note that some churches and sacred sites were deliberately desecrated during Russian occupation.
The destruction has impacted virtually every religious tradition in Ukraine. According to the project’s findings, damaged sites include:
- 395 belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate);
- 75 belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine;
- 31 Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic churches;
- 194 Protestant churches;
- 22 Jewish community sites;
- 7 Muslim religious sites; and
- numerous theological schools and other religious organizations.
Evangelical Protestant communities have reportedly suffered disproportionately severe losses relative to their small percentage of the population.
Beyond physical destruction, Fautré highlights what human rights organizations describe as a broader campaign of religious repression in occupied territories. Reports from Mission Eurasia indicate that Russian occupation authorities have effectively banned most religious organizations in occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, except for groups aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate.
Russian forces have reportedly raided churches and clergy homes, interrogated religious leaders, confiscated church property, and shut down worship services. Numerous accounts document abductions, torture, illegal detentions, and killings of clergy from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Protestant communities, Greek Catholic parishes, and other faiths that refused cooperation with occupation authorities.
Entire religious communities have been dismantled. All Ukrainian Greek Catholic parishes in occupied territories were closed. Protestant groups such as “New Generation” and “Revival” were banned. In Melitopol alone, occupation authorities reportedly confiscated 15 church buildings, including Protestant, Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and Greek Catholic properties.
Jehovah’s Witnesses communities have also faced severe repression. At least 17 Kingdom Halls in Donetsk and Luhansk were confiscated, while all 22 communities in Crimea were deregistered.
Mission Eurasia researchers argue that Russia is systematically reshaping the religious landscape of occupied Ukraine by imposing structures loyal to Moscow, replacing local clergy, suppressing religious diversity, and subordinating faith communities to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Fautré concludes that the destruction of religious institutions is part of a broader effort to erase Ukrainian national, cultural, linguistic, and spiritual identity. International human rights organizations increasingly describe these policies as a coordinated campaign of religious and cultural cleansing aimed at uprooting an entire people from their homeland.
Yours in the service of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis
Archon Grand Aktouarios
National Commander
Russia’s destruction of Ukrainians’ diverse religious identities in the Occupied Territories
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
The destruction of the right to cultural, national and religious identity has become one of the key elements of Russian aggression against Ukraine in the Occupied Territories.
So far, during the full-scale war of 2022-2026, the religious infrastructure of Ukraine has been subjected to unprecedented destruction. Hundreds of churches, monasteries, mosques, synagogues, and houses of worship were damaged or destroyed, especially in the frontline and occupied regions.
To date, at least 737 religious sites are known to have been damaged. However, these data remain incomplete, since it is extremely difficult to establish the exact number of destroyed religious buildings in the occupied territories.
