Ukraine Invasion

“In speech after speech (as well in essays and revealing interviews), Putin and his senior officials have conveyed an ideological view of history that places Kyiv as the birthplace and spiritual center of ancient Russian civilization (‘Kyivan Rus’).” - Providence

“Torturing and killing pastors and priests, prosecuting residents for exercising religious freedom, banning worship and entire religious communities, closing churches, prosecuting missionaries and banning Scripture as extremist literature are among the most egregious atrocities Forum 18 cited” - Baptist Press

“…it is likely that the most important part of Friday’s events has relatively little to do with the ending of that tragic war. The greatest significance of Friday’s events, it seems to me, is that it represents the loudest and most undeniable statement yet of Trump’s fondness for the totalitarian.” - Jake Meador

“ ‘As an American, it was sad for me to see President Trump not supporting a country that has freedom and democracy,’ he said. ‘It helps to remember my most important citizenship is in heaven, and I think Ukrainian believers are sensing that more than ever now too.’” - TGC

“However, faced with brutal repression by the Russians, then the Nazis, then the Russians again, and now Putin (Russia again), the record is clear: Whether it was from Lenin and Stalin starving the Ukrainian people to cow them into submission, or from death squads during World War II, the Ukrainian people have suffered and yet retained a distinct Ukrainian cultural identity.” - World

“the leaders from Chernivtsi, a southwestern Ukrainian city bordering Moldovia and Romania, expressed confusion after meeting with Congressional leaders in Washington to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine … . ‘Alarmed…. We don’t understand what stage we’re at.’” - Baptist Press

“Part of our protecting religious-freedom initiatives means recognizing, in our foreign policy, the difference between regimes that respect religious freedom and those that do not … The United States must be able to make that distinction.” - CToday

“The work of churches in the frontline regions is very inspiring….This has a significant impact among the people, as in such communities the church is often the only one providing support.” - Baptist Press

“Russia’s Soviet-style peace propaganda has both practical and moral dimensions. Proposals to end the war on Russia’s terms are paired up with threats of nuclear annihilation, as in Soviet psychological warfare, when both fear and moral posturing informed the largely leftist Cold War peace movement’s ‘better red than dead’ credo.” - Providence

“Even some supporters of Ukraine see the ban as an overstep in the name of national security, a violation of religious freedom and a potential risk to continued foreign military aid.” - RNS