Documentary about the Persecution of Christians in Occupied Territories

This year, a documentary film about the persecution of Christians under Russian occupation in Ukraine was released. Titled “A Faith Under Siege,” the film by Ukrainian filmmaker Yaroslav Lodygin exposes how Ukrainian believers, especially Catholics and Protestants, are targeted by the occupiers.

He and his team conclude that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin aims to control religious communities. Consequently, believers who invoke Jesus Christ and their conscience are put under pressure. They are accused of actually serving Western political interests.

The only church under Moscow’s protection is the Russian Orthodox Church, which openly supports the war of aggression. Priests who distanced themselves from this official line of Patriarch Kirill were dismissed and even imprisoned. Steven E. Moore, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. House of Representatives, explains in the film: “This is not a church in the sense that we understand it, but rather agents of the state.” According to him, Ukrainian Christians, regardless of their denomination, are proving resilient and helping one another across sectarian lines.

Since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022, at least 670 churches, places of worship, and other buildings belonging to religious communities have been destroyed. Russia continues to occupy approximately 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory. In a documentary released in September 2025, the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) shows how the people there are subjected to comprehensive forced Russification. Russia is attempting to break the remaining Ukrainian population through mass deportations, filtration camps, and torture.