What Putin's Invasion Means for the Baptists of Ukraine

Though there are many different reasons that Vladimir Putin might use to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine, one has been underdiscussed: religion. The Russian government's concept of "spiritual security" sheds some light on Putin's rationale for his unprovoked aggression against a peaceful neighbor. Ukraine has the second-largest Baptist population of any European country, only slightly behind the United Kingdom, and the Ukrainian Baptist Union is the largest Protestant group in Ukraine, numbering over 100,000 believers across 2,000 churches. Ukraine's Baptists trace their history to German Anabaptists, and they have been well-established in the country since the 1800s. Ukraine's Baptist seminary has 1,300 students, and its interdenominational Evangelical seminary has another 500. In recent years, Ukraine has become more prominent in sending Baptist missionaries to other countries as well.