Clergy say “peace” without justice only rewards atrocity and emboldens future aggression.
From: Euromaiden Press BY YURI ZORIA
Saint Seraphim of Sarov Church (affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate) in the city of Druzhba, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, after a Russian airstrike with two guided bombs overnight on 22 March 2024. Photo: National Police of Ukraine.Baptist-led church council in Kyiv warns: Russia must be condemned or real peace won’t come
The currently Baptist-led church council in Kyiv says real peace is impossible without denouncing Russia’s crimes. In a joint appeal, Ukraine’s top religious leaders warn that silence enables atrocities and emboldens aggression far beyond the battlefield.
The statement comes in response to Kremlin-driven anti-Ukrainian propaganda in the West, which falsely portrays Kyiv as anti-Christian amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Churches denounce Russia’s war as evil and imperialist
Ukraine’s Church Council — officially the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) — issued a public appeal on 8 July 2025, calling on believers around the world to respond to the deepening spiritual and humanitarian catastrophe caused by Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
AUCCRO described the invasion as “imperialist in nature,” citing widespread suffering: devastated cities and homes, mass displacement, family separations, abductions of Ukrainian children, and systemic violations of rights.
The clergy also detailed Russia’s religious persecution in occupied areas, including the closure of churches, torture, and murder of clergy from multiple denominations, and abuse of both military and civilian captives.
Voice of Ukraine 