US lawmakers introduce bill to counter Russia's religious repression in Ukraine
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A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on April 23 aimed at combating Russia's attack on religious freedom in Ukraine, according to an official announcement.
The proposed measure, titled the Countering Russia's War on Faith Act, would require U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense to jointly report on the Russian government's efforts to persecute, suppress, discriminate, or otherwise violate the religious freedoms of people in Ukraine and the temporarily occupied territories.
It also directs the U.S. president "to impose all applicable sanctions with respect to foreign persons certified to have engaged in such efforts, and for other purposes."
The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress, by Representative Joe Wilson and supported by Representative Steve Cohen, along with other lawmakers from both parties. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate, the upper chamber, by Senators John Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse.
According to the lawmakers' statement, more than 600 churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious sites have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 50 Ukrainian clergy have been killed since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Protestant, Catholic, Crimean Tatar Muslim, and Orthodox Christian communities not aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church have faced raids, forced re-registration, and criminal prosecution.
"Russia targets and kills persons of faith as a matter of policy wherever it invades," Representative Wilson said in the statement, adding that "war criminal Putin seeks to prevent free worship of all believers and crushes any faith not subservient to its state-run church."
He added that "believers in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are targeted with particular ferocity."
Representative Cohen said the legislation underscores the United States’ commitment to addressing human rights abuses as part of its foreign policy.
"Putin is a war criminal conducting genocide in Ukraine," Cohen said. "He is also attempting to erase expressions of Ukrainian identity, including religious freedoms."
Other lawmakers echoed those concerns. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick described the war as "a calculated, systemic assault on religious freedom," adding that the legislation would ensure "these crimes are documented, perpetrators are identified, and real consequences follow."
Representative Marcy Kaptur said Russia's actions reflect a longer historical pattern, calling them "a horrific reminder that this new war of occupation was never just about land, but about forcible Russification and the erasure of Ukraine's pluralistic and free way of life."
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the measure and expressed gratitude to the lawmakers.
"This is not just timely — it is long overdue. Russia must be held accountable for its systematic assault on religious freedom," Sybiha said.
"Across Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories, Russia persecutes and murders clergy, destroys churches, bans entire faith communities, and weaponizes religion to impose fear and control," he added.
"It is also a direct attack on a fundamental human right — the freedom to believe, to worship, and to live without fear."
