A documentary film highlighting the persecution of evangelical Christians in Ukraine has been released to bring exposure to the plight of believers since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
A Faith Under Siege features interviews and first-hand accounts from pastors and other believers in Russian-occupied Ukraine who have experienced persecution for their faith.
“Right now there’s so much propaganda out there around these kinds of issues that we wanted to get right to the truth and talk to the people that had suffered under Russian occupation for their faith,” said Colby Barrett, the film’s executive producer. “That’s really the heart of the documentary.”
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused Russia of “systematic violations of religious freedom in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation,” as many places of worship in Russian-occupied areas have been shut down or completely destroyed.
As of February, more than 600 religious buildings had reportedly been affected and around 50 pastors and religious leaders had been killed, with many others forced to flee or go underground.
“The folks that stayed in these war-torn areas to help and to minister to their folks and to others, and to provide aid, were really doing some amazing stuff. And what you see when the Russians took over and found these evangelicals, they find them very threatening,” Barrett explained.
“We pray for the Christians that are caught in this conflict, that they’re able to serve as a model for our faith… as well as just an end to this war, a just end to this war.”
The documentary is available for free viewing at faithunderseige.com.
