The Workshop of Academic Religious Studies published a report “Religion on Fire: Three Years of War in Figures”, which summarizes data on the destruction of religious buildings in Ukraine as a result of Russian military aggression. The study covers the period from February 24, 2022, to February 2, 2025, and contains information on the damage to churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious facilities.
Source: mar.in.ua
The project “Religion on Fire: Documenting Russia’s War Crimes Against Religious Communities in Ukraine” was launched in March 2022 by the NGO “Workshop of Academic Religious Studies” with the support of state institutions and public organizations. Its goal is to document the destruction of religious infrastructure and analyze changes in the country’s religious life after the start of the full-scale invasion.
The collected materials can be used in human rights activities, academic research, and public discussions on the impact of the war on the religious sphere of Ukraine. In addition, in 2023, a bilingual website “Religion on Fire” was created, which publishes updated data on damaged and destroyed religious sites, illustrative materials, and sources.
Scale of destruction of religious infrastructure
According to the report, as of February 2025, there were
- 643 religious buildings that were damaged or destroyed,
- 53 facilities were completely destroyed,
- 97 buildings were severely damaged (45-75% of destruction),
- 157 buildings have medium damage (5-45%),
- 255 religious buildings were partially damaged (up to 15%).
The largest losses of religious buildings were recorded in the regions of hostilities
- Donetsk region – 131 destroyed or damaged objects,
- Luhansk region – 90,
- Kharkiv region – 86,Kherson region – 74,
- Kyiv and Kyiv region – 88.
Religious communities under attack
Among the religious buildings completely destroyed, the largest number belonged to:
- The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) – 31 objects,
- Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) – 5,
- Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB) – 5,
- Jehovah’s Witnesses – 5,
- Christians of Evangelical Faith (CEF) – 2,
- Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, other Protestant communities and the UGCC – 1 facility each.
Religious freedom under threat
The war has not only caused physical destruction, but has also created unprecedented challenges to religious freedom in Ukraine. The Russian occupation authorities have repeatedly persecuted religious communities, abducted clergy, and banned the activities of Protestant and other religious associations in the occupied territories.
International humanitarian law protects religious buildings as objects of cultural and spiritual heritage, but Russia systematically ignores these norms, as evidenced by numerous cases of targeted shelling of churches and monasteries.
Research to document crimes and restore justice
The materials of the Religion on Fire project are published on the organization’s official website and Facebook page. Detailed reports are issued, analytical work is carried out, and scholars and experts present their research at conferences and in academic journals.
The collected data will be used for:
🔹 preparing international human rights reports,
🔹 documenting Russia’s war crimes,
🔹 analyze changes in the religious life of Ukraine.
This study is an important step in restoring historical justice and bringing perpetrators to justice.
