On June 20, I had the privilege of listening to two young people whose eyes reflect both the weight of a tragic history and the light of unwavering hope. They are Ihor Chikhman and Marta Kostyk, members of the Youth Council of the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain. There was no hatred in their words, but rather a deep thirst for truth and justice. At the end of our meeting, they gave me a gift that I have been reflecting on ever since: the excellent book *Chronicle of a Sacrilegious War*, written by His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyć and Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The title of Shevchuk’s work is not merely a literary device; it is an accurate spiritual diagnosis. Why call this war «sacrilegious»? Because the Russian authorities have crossed a red line that transcends geopolitics: they are using the Christian religion to justify crimes against humanity and, therefore, crimes against God Himself. Blessing missiles, sanctifying the invasion of a sovereign nation, and brandishing the cross to justify the destruction of hospitals and parishes is the very definition of sacrilege. It is taking God’s name in vain to cover up barbarism.
Nationalism Adorned with Ornaments
Nothing exposes this falsehood more starkly than the suffering of the youngest among us. The heart-wrenching abduction of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russian troops—torn from their homes and parents to be confined in re-education camps in Russia—is a cry to Heaven. Attempting to erase these children’s identity, memory, and language is an atrocity that stands in direct opposition to every Gospel value. Anyone who tears a child away from his mother’s love cannot, under any circumstances, present himself to the world as a defender of family and Christian values.
When observing the Kremlin’s rhetoric and actions, it becomes clear that Russia has not undergone a genuine reckoning with its totalitarian past. Rather, it appears to have replaced the ideological apparatus of communism with a political and tactical form of Christianity. The forms have changed—the hammer and sickle often share space with Byzantine icons—but the criminal practices, repression, state-sponsored lies, and subjugation of its own people and neighboring peoples remain intact. It is imperial nationalism dressed in liturgical garb.
Faced with this reality, we Western Christians must not allow ourselves to be deceived. There is a temptation, in some circles, to look to Moscow as a bastion of resistance against the secularization and moral decay of the West. But the Russian government’s displays of religiosity are nothing more than a pretext, a mirage designed to seduce the unwary and keep citizens subjugated. There is no possible defense of Christian morality where human dignity is systematically trampled upon and one’s brother is murdered.
Ukrainian Christians
Today, it is Ukraine itself—the victim of aggression—that is showing Russia the path toward the light. The Ukrainian people have become a moving example in the defense of their national identity, rooted in a love of freedom and not in the subjugation of their neighbors. Their struggle is, moreover, a heroic defense of religious freedom. The accounts reaching us are harrowing: in the Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia, fierce religious persecution has been unleashed. Greek Catholic priests, Latin Rite faithful, Protestant pastors, and members of other denominations are being harassed, kidnapped, and tortured for refusing to submit their consciences to the invader’s political dictates. Wherever the Kremlin’s model is imposed, genuine freedom of spirit is crushed.
The courage and daily sacrifice of Ukrainian Christians, their peaceful resistance, and their faith—tested in the crucible of suffering—open our eyes. They remind us that true faith is manifested in love, in the defense of life, and in service to the truth.
The testimonies of young people like Ihor and Marta and the prophetic voice of pastors like Sviatoslav Shevchuk help us see that Russia needs, now more than ever, to be converted. And we are not talking about a mere change of political allegiance, but a conversion of the heart. Russia’s freedom—its liberation from this ideological and imperialist captivity—is a necessary condition for Europe’s freedom and peace throughout the world. To achieve this, Russia needs to repent authentically before history and before God, and to abandon once and for all that religious guise that serves only as an alibi to continue inflicting profound harm on humanity.
The Freedom of the Ukrainian People
Perhaps the best way to understand this hope is to look to the very soul of the Ukrainian people, as captured in the verses of their great national poet, Taras Shevchenko, who as early as the 19th century spoke out against imperialism with unshakable faith:
“Fight, and you will win!”
May God help you!
You have the strength on your side,
”freedom and holy truth.".
