On January 29, the Executive Director of the Institute for Religious Freedom Maksym Vasin gave an address, “Faith under Fire”, during the International Religious Freedom Roundtable (IRF Roundtable), which took place in the U.S. Senate building.
He wrote about it on social media.
In his speech, Maksym Vasin shared his own experiences regarding religious freedom in Ukraine using the example of Donetsk: what it was like before the Russian invasion, and how this freedom vanishes wherever Russia comes in.
“After 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time, fear and hopelessness reigned over my hometown. Most of the Churches, except the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, were forced to close. Most believers from among religious minorities were forced to flee from Russian repression to the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. Only a small part of religious communities remained to operate underground.
My family members survived Russian repression, arbitrary searches, and brutal treatment over their membership in the Evangelical Church and them identifying as Ukrainians. As a result, they were forced to leave their homes and flee from religious persecution. “Russia has caused the largest migration and humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War 2,” he said.
Vasin also spoke about the facts of the genocide of the Ukrainian people, which Russia is carrying out right now, and concluded the speech with the following words:
“Russia is trying to hide its atrocities against Ukrainian religious communities. To this end, Russian propaganda circulates distorted information that Ukraine allegedly restricts religious freedom and bans the Church. This is not true! Ukrainian authorities have not banned any Church, and the bill on severing ties with Russian religious centers has not yet been passed. It is still being discussed in the Ukrainian parliament in accordance with democratic procedures. Instead, Russia systematically exploits religion and the Orthodox Church in its war against Ukraine and to justify its invasion. The main goal of Russian propaganda is to deprive Ukraine of international support.
Don’t trust a word of Russian propaganda. Please continue to support the people of Ukraine in their struggle for freedom and democracy. I call on the U.S. Congress to pass a decision on military support for Ukraine because the victory of Ukraine is a guarantee of peace not only in Europe, but also for the United States.”
Today, most of the Ukrainian delegation will arrive in Washington, which, as part of #IRFSummit2024 and #UkrainianWeek, will hold several special events for American politicians and international experts dedicated to religious freedom in Ukraine, Russian war crimes, and refutation of Russian propaganda against Ukraine.
