Ukraine’s Weaponization of Religion

Even as Ukraine faces mounting challenges on the battlefield, or possibly for that reason, its government is ramping up its efforts to “de-Russify” Ukrainian society. As a result, every aspect of Ukrainian society is being turned into a hybrid battlefield—including religion. Last month, on the nation’s Independence Day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed into law a bill, previously approved by Ukraine’s parliament in a near-unanimous vote, banning Ukrainian religious organizations from working together with the Russian Orthodox Church. It is no secret that the ban is directed against one organization in particular: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the largest (in terms of parishes) and oldest church in Ukraine, which the authorities in Kyiv accuse of being a tool for Russian influence within Ukraine. Such an attack on religious freedom marks a disturbing development in a war in which nothing is off-limits.