Faith Leaders Letter to President Trump

President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We, a collective of faith leaders representing Christian communities in the United States, thank you for your leadership in bringing an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine and write to you to bring attention to an underreported aspect of the war: Russia’s escalating persecution of Ukrainian Christians. 

As shepherds of our flocks, we feel compelled to bring to your attention the horrors faced by Ukrainian believers and to urge decisive action to protect their safety, secure the return of the children Russia has abducted during the course of the war, and defend the religious freedom of those Ukrainians living under Russian occupation.

Russia’s persecution of believers is not a new development. Since 2021, Russia has been designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) by the State Department for having engaged in and tolerated systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.1

Russia has escalated its attacks on faith since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, countless reports have documented the systematic targeting of Christian communities, particularly evangelical and Protestant congregations, as well as Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic churches unaffiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. Russian forces have shelled, looted, or destroyed over 650 places of worship.2 Pastors and priests have been detained and tortured, and more than 49 have been killed for their faith or for refusing to pledge allegiance to Russia.3 In Melitopol, armed Russian soldiers have stormed churches during worship services, threatening pastors with violence, and forced congregations to disband or go underground.

These actions are not isolated but part of a deliberate campaign to suppress religious freedom and erase non-Russian Orthodox Christian presence in occupied regions. Approximately 2.5 million Christians now live under these conditions, where preaching the Gospel in public or holding a private Bible study in one’s home can lead to prosecution, jail, or worse. While this campaign has been led by Vladimir Putin, it has also received endorsement from the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who has blessed Russia’s invasion as a “holy war” against Ukraine and the West. 4

We are deeply troubled by Russian propaganda which falsely portrays these actions as protecting Christianity while labeling Ukrainian believers as “extremists” or “American spies.” Such disinformation has even reached Western audiences, sowing confusion about the reality of Russia’s aggression. Pastors like Mykhailo Brytsyn and Viktor Sergeev, forced to flee Melitopol after threats to their lives, have shared firsthand accounts of Russian forces demanding they record videos praising President Putin or face dire consequences. Others, like Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko of Mariupol, have seen their lives’ work—churches and orphanages—converted into military barracks or municipal buildings. These stories reflect a broader pattern of oppression reminiscent of Soviet-era persecution, where believers were driven underground or silenced. 

This persecution is also inflicted upon the next generation of Ukrainians. As you know, more than 19,546 Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russia – many from Christian orphanages – and forcibly adopted into Russian families or sent to a network of 43 “re-education” camps inside Russia and Russian-occupied territory.5 These facilities aim to re-educate Ukrainian children through academic instruction, political and nationalistic indoctrination, and military training, but they serve a dual purpose of erasing the national identity and faith traditions of these abducted children. We thank First Lady Melania Trump for her strong letter to President Putin in support of Ukrainian children and standing up for the voiceless.  

In free Ukraine, Russian missiles and Iranian “Shahed” drones rain down nightly on civilian areas, contributing to the over 46,085 civilian casualties resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion.6 Churches are routinely hit, and many church members are forced to worship in basements for their safety. Countless Christian fathers have had to bury their wives and children killed in targeted Russian missile and drone attacks. 

As leaders of faith, we stand united in our call for the United States to continue its unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, safety, and religious freedom. We respectfully urge you to:

1. Demand that the Russian Federation allow for religious freedom in the Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine. We strongly support your efforts to bring a peaceful resolution to the war and ensure Ukraine’s territorial integrity. However, before those objectives are completed, religious freedom is under attack in Russian-occupied territories. Specifically, the “Yarovaya” laws enacted by Russia in 2016 that prohibit publicly preaching the Gospel should not apply to occupied territory, nor should believers have to register with the government or hold Russian passports to hold worship services.7 All restrictions on minimum group sizes for worship should be repealed immediately.

2. Demand the return of all of the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. So far, Russia has only agreed to repatriate five children. Tens of thousands remain. All of those abducted by Russia should come home to Ukraine.

3. Protect Ukraine’s civilians and churches from Russian missile and drone attacks. The US has helped to protect our allies in Israel from Iranian missiles and “Shahed” drones through the “Iron Dome,” “David’s Arrow,” and “David’s Sling” programs; we should do the same in Ukraine and swiftly send additional air defense systems and interceptors to Ukraine. 

Mr. President, we believe that the defense of religious freedom is a cornerstone of human rights and a testament to the values that define our nation. You proved a champion of religious freedom in your first term and know you will continue to be. 

The resilience of Ukrainian Christians, who continue to pray in secret and serve their communities despite grave risks, inspires us all. We pray for your wisdom and strength in leading efforts to support Ukraine against Russia’s aggression and to protect the sacred right to worship freely.

In faith and solidarity,

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