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WSJ: Russia aims to erase evangelical churches from occupied Ukraine [1]

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Date: 2024-06-17  

As reported in Euromaidan Press:

Russia is engaged in a sweeping crackdown against evangelical Christian churches and religious groups in areas of Ukraine it has occupied, part of a campaign by Moscow to assert dominance over the territories and reshape them in its own authoritarian image, according to WSJ.

Ukrainian and US officials along with clergymen report that evangelical pastors have been disproportionately affected in Russian occupied areas, with dozens abducted, tortured, and forced into exile from their hometowns. In one instance, a deacon from a Pentecostal church in Kherson Oblast and his 19-year-old son were found dead in a forest in the fall of 2022 following their arrest by Russian forces.

Ukrainian officials say the Kremlin is deliberately targeting evangelical faiths, which it views as instruments of American cultural influence and opposition to Russia’s control. According to a February report by the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, Russian forces have killed at least 30 Ukrainian clergymen of various faiths and held 26 captive since the invasion began.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/17/2247138/-WSJ-Russia-aims-to-erase-evangelical-churches-from-occupied-Ukraine?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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