Russia has killed 120 members of the clergy, Zelensky says
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Russian attacks have killed about 120 members of the clergy in Ukraine and damaged over 800 religious institutions since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview on Oct. 31.
"Some of them were a thousand years old, and they were attacked en masse with drones and missiles, both cruise and ballistic," Zelensky said. "This is horrific and crazy."
Zelensky spoke about Russian attacks on clergy in an interview with This Week on Capitol Hill. Host Tony Perkins asked him to respond to American commentators, including Tucker Carlson, who have accused Kyiv of persecuting religious minorities.
Zelensky responded by describing the toll Russia’s war has taken on Ukraine’s religious institutions.
"The Russians killed about 120 members of the clergy," he said. "Intentionally, not by accident, in targeted attacks on these people, on our churches and other religious institutions."
About 800 religious buildings have been destroyed or damaged in the war, he added.
Zelensky also pointed to the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which includes representatives of 15 churches and religious groups and meets to discuss humanitarian aid and other wartime issues.
"We are very free," he said of religion in Ukraine.
Also on Oct. 31, Zelensky met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul on Oct. 31, to discuss the humanitarian situation in Russian-occupied Oleshky and peace efforts.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Zelensky met Bartholomew while in Turkey for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The two discussed the humanitarian operation in Oleshky and peace efforts with global partners, according to a statement from the president’s office.
"I thank His All-Holiness for his consistent public position, support for our state and constant prayers for peace in Ukraine," Zelensky said in a statement.
