Ukraine Evangelical leader tells US lawmakers Russia is targeting Ukrainian Christians

A Ukrainian Evangelical leader and former member of Parliament has met with members of the U.S. Senate to detail how Russia has killed Christians during its invasion of Ukraine, calling for continued support in fighting what he calls "evil forces" trying to "destroy civilization."

Pavlo Unguryan, the executive secretary for the Ukrainian Evangelical Conservative Movement, expressed appreciation for the support his country has received from the United States government and American churches. He warns that Russia is persecuting Christians in Ukraine, highlighting a recent church bombing in Kupiansk that killed a priest. 

In an interview with The Christian Post following his advocacy in Washington last week, Unguryan described Ukraine as a "border country for all of the European continent," stressing why the country needs international support. 

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"We fight not just for Ukrainian freedom, but for the whole of Europe and Baltic countries," Unguryan told CP. "We are on the border between light and darkness, between West and East, between civilization, which was created on Judeo-Christian values." 

Unguryan met with multiple political leaders, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The former parliamentarian told CP that he showed the politicians photos of Christians who have been killed, and he urged the senators to continue supporting Ukraine. 

Unguryan highlighted the death of Ukrainian priest Yuriy Klymko, who was among four people who were killed last week after Russia dropped a bomb on The Church of Jesus Christ in the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk. Russia also used Iranian drones in Odesa last week, which killed at least 12 people, including a Baptist pastor’s daughter and grandson.

"We need to stop [Vladimir] Putin," Unguryan added. "Our civilization needs to be uniting together because it looks like evil forces are uniting together to destroy our civilization." 

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and he said Russia has targeted Christians throughout the war. Evangelicals are at risk, according to Unguryan, stating that Russia does not respect any religious group aside from the Russian Orthodox Church. 

During the International Religious Freedom Summit in January, officials and churches said that Russian soldiers and occupation officials have committed at least 76 acts of religious persecution in Ukraine since February 2022. 

As Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets told attendees at the event, Evangelical Christians, including Baptists, Pentecostals and Seventh-day Adventists have suffered greatly since the invasion. 

"The Russian military has repeatedly threatened the total physical elimination of all Evangelical believers, calling them American spies, sectarians and enemies of the Russian Orthodox people," Lubinets said. "To kill a person, to demolish a church, the Russians do everything to destroy us as a nation."

On Tuesday, the White House announced additional assistance, marking the Biden administration's 55th tranche of equipment provided from Department of Defense inventories to Ukraine since August 2021. The package is valued at up to $300 million and "includes capabilities to support Ukraine's immediate air defense, artillery, and anti-tank requirements."

"With a lack of replacement funds available to replenish DoD inventories, the Administration had been forced to pause PDA packages since December 2023," the White House announcement reads. "DoD is able to support this extraordinary package after identifying contract savings from previously appropriated supplemental funding that can be applied to replace DoD stocks. Today's announcement provides a short-term stop gap, but it is nowhere near enough to meet Ukraine's battlefield needs."