INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dozens of Ukrainian clergy members in occupied Ukraine have faced persecution by the Russian military since Moscow launched its invasion
least 43 clergy members have faced persecution in the Kyiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions, according to the investigation, among which eight
were taken prisoner, and five were killed
found in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where Russian forces have been accused of committing mass atrocities before their withdrawal in late
March 2022.At the same time, journalists found that 12 clergy members were forcibly deported, while 18 others were expelled from
Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics, and Muslims.According to
Vyorstka, the primary reasons behind the abuses were the religious figures' refusal to endorse the Russian occupying forces and their
continued use of the Ukrainian language during religious services.
