Latest news with #RazumkovCentre
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Ukraine's Catholics tend to faithful driven out by Russian occupation
ZAPORIZHZHIA (Reuters) -About 25 miles (40 km) from a slowly advancing Russian frontline, a community of Ukrainian Catholics is tending to people exiled from occupied territory to the country's eastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Church members deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainian troops and villages near the frontline and nuns offer comfort to families and especially children fleeing the war. "When kids come, especially little ones, they feel safe and cling to us, needing hugs and warmth. New kids always need that embrace," said Sister Lukia Murashko, the mother superior at Zaporizhzhia's Order of Saint Basil the Great monastery. The monastery provides a cheerful environment adorned with Ukrainian flags and greeting cards from soldiers. In June, Sister Lukia and two other nuns made a cake for the 15th birthday of Evhen, a boy who fled the occupied city of Melitopol with his mother and now lives in a drab hostel in Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, a Ukrainian denomination loyal to the Vatican named for its rites similar to eastern Orthodox churches, has over 4 million followers in Ukraine and is the country's largest branch of Catholicism. Orthodox Christianity remains the most popular religion but has declined during the past decade amid tensions over ties to Moscow. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has grown and its followers now make up 12% of the population, according to a 2024 study by the Razumkov Centre, a Ukrainian think-tank. Catholicism is traditionally predominant in Ukraine's West, but has been growing in the East of the country, much of which Russia claims as its own, including lands it occupied in 2014 and in the 2022 full-scale invasion. Moscow does not control Zaporizhzhia city and it has become a centre for internally displaced Ukrainians from occupied territories. With membership growing, the wooden St. Volodymyr chapel is getting an extension in the city, where Roman Catholicism also has a small presence. During a visit in June, about two dozen faithful and three priests in gold-brocade vestments observed a Divine Liturgy conducted by Father Andriy Bukhvak in the chapel, most of them among the displaced. After Russia occupied most of Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, it installed an administration that banned the Ukrainian Catholic Church and Catholic charities in a December 6, 2022 decree, saying they worked in the interests of foreign intelligence services and stored weapons. The decree accused parishioners of participating "in riots and anti-Russian rallies in March-April 2022." The office of the Russia-installed governor of the occupied area of Zaporizhzhia region did not immediately respond to a detailed request for comment. Father Oleksandr Bohomaz, 36, served in Melitopol, a coastal city in Zaporizhzhia region, for nine months after Russia took the town on March 1 that year along with two other priests, caring for four parishes and faithful who could not flee after authorities cracked down on the church there, he said. "We travelled around, serving as much as possible until they eventually deported us," he told Reuters. During his time under occupation, he said, the authorities stormed church services, collecting fingerprints from worshippers. In December 2022, he was interrogated and taken to a checkpoint where he was told to cross to the territory under Ukrainian control. Other Catholic priests in the Zaporizhzhia region suffered harsher treatment. In November 2022, Russia's troops raided a Greek Catholic church in Berdiansk, a city about 100 km along the coast from Melitopol. Two priests, Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, were arrested on illegal weapons charges. They were not freed until a June 2024 exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners, according to a December 2024 report by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The church denied the weapons charges. HOLY STRIFE Religion has become intertwined with the war. In Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church's Patriarch Kirill has given his blessing to the invasion of Ukraine, which he calls a Holy War Last August, Ukrainian authorities banned the branch of Ukrainian Orthodox Church loyal to Moscow and in 2023 placed its leader, Patriarch Pavlo, under house arrest. The International Religious Freedom and Belief Alliance (IRFBA), a U.S. State Department-backed initiative of 43 countries promoting freedom of religion, has accused Russia of widespread religious persecution in Ukraine. In a February report, IRFBA said Russian troops had killed 67 clergy of various denominations since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, without giving specifics. IRFBA said more than 630 religious buildings had been damaged during the Russian occupation, including 596 Christian churches. Reuters was unable to independently verify IRFBA's claims, which have been repeated by Ukrainian officials. Russia's Foreign Ministry has described the alliance's reports as based on partisan and biased information, and said any actions were taken in accordance with the law. The Ukrainian Catholic Donetsk Exarchate, the body of the church in much of East Ukraine, has operated in exile in Zaporizhzhia since 2014. Out of 77 parishes, 36 are under control of the Russian authorities, it said. Stepan Meniok, 75, who was the bishop heading the Donetsk Exarchate until his retirement in 2024, said that when Russia-led separatists took over the eastern city of Donetsk in 2014 they drove him from the diocese's seat. He settled in Zaporizhzhia. "Many displaced people pass through here, and I've heard countless stories of loss: property, lives," he said, adding he hoped for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Father Bohomaz said Russian authorities saw the Ukrainian Catholic church as a threat because it was outspoken against the occupation. "We see our people being beaten, killed, robbed, and destroyed," he said. "We stand with the people." (Reporting by Thomas Peter and Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel, Alexandra Hudson)
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Ukraine's Catholics tend to faithful driven out by Russian occupation
ZAPORIZHZHIA - About 25 miles (40 km) from a slowly advancing Russian frontline, a community of Ukrainian Catholics is tending to people exiled from occupied territory to the country's eastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Church members deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainian troops and villages near the frontline and nuns offer comfort to families and especially children fleeing the war. "When kids come, especially little ones, they feel safe and cling to us, needing hugs and warmth. New kids always need that embrace," said Sister Lukia Murashko, the mother superior at Zaporizhzhia's Order of Saint Basil the Great monastery. The monastery provides a cheerful environment adorned with Ukrainian flags and greeting cards from soldiers. In June, Sister Lukia and two other nuns made a cake for the 15th birthday of Evhen, a boy who fled the occupied city of Melitopol with his mother and now lives in a drab hostel in Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, a Ukrainian denomination loyal to the Vatican named for its rites similar to eastern Orthodox churches, has over 4 million followers in Ukraine and is the country's largest branch of Catholicism. Orthodox Christianity remains the most popular religion but has declined during the past decade amid tensions over ties to Moscow. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has grown and its followers now make up 12% of the population, according to a 2024 study by the Razumkov Centre, a Ukrainian think-tank. Catholicism is traditionally predominant in Ukraine's West, but has been growing in the East of the country, much of which Russia claims as its own, including lands it occupied in 2014 and in the 2022 full-scale invasion. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Live: Thailand, Cambodia clash with jets, rockets, artillery in deadly border row Asia 9 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border: Reports Singapore Boy, 15, charged after being caught with vapes 5 times; ordered to stay 2 years in S'pore Boys' Home Business MOM probing work injury claim flagged by late Sumo Salad boss Jane Lee: MOS Dinesh Asia Half of KLIA Terminal 2 auto gates down with technical glitch, auto gates at other terminals unaffected Singapore What's key to a good life? Most Singapore residents choose emotional and mental well-being Singapore Over 2 years' jail for man who worked with wife to cheat her then boyfriend of $220k Asia South Korea police raid offices of BTS' agency Hybe over share probe Moscow does not control Zaporizhzhia city and it has become a centre for internally displaced Ukrainians from occupied territories. With membership growing, the wooden St. Volodymyr chapel is getting an extension in the city, where Roman Catholicism also has a small presence. During a visit in June, about two dozen faithful and three priests in gold-brocade vestments observed a Divine Liturgy conducted by Father Andriy Bukhvak in the chapel, most of them among the displaced. After Russia occupied most of Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, it installed an administration that banned the Ukrainian Catholic Church and Catholic charities in a December 6, 2022 decree, saying they worked in the interests of foreign intelligence services and stored weapons. The decree accused parishioners of participating "in riots and anti-Russian rallies in March-April 2022." The office of the Russia-installed governor of the occupied area of Zaporizhzhia region did not immediately respond to a detailed request for comment. Father Oleksandr Bohomaz, 36, served in Melitopol, a coastal city in Zaporizhzhia region, for nine months after Russia took the town on March 1 that year along with two other priests, caring for four parishes and faithful who could not flee after authorities cracked down on the church there, he said. "We travelled around, serving as much as possible until they eventually deported us," he told Reuters. During his time under occupation, he said, the authorities stormed church services, collecting fingerprints from worshippers. In December 2022, he was interrogated and taken to a checkpoint where he was told to cross to the territory under Ukrainian control. Other Catholic priests in the Zaporizhzhia region suffered harsher treatment. In November 2022, Russia's troops raided a Greek Catholic church in Berdiansk, a city about 100 km along the coast from Melitopol. Two priests, Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, were arrested on illegal weapons charges. They were not freed until a June 2024 exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners, according to a December 2024 report by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The church denied the weapons charges. HOLY STRIFE Religion has become intertwined with the war. In Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church's Patriarch Kirill has given his blessing to the invasion of Ukraine, which he calls a Holy War Last August, Ukrainian authorities banned the branch of Ukrainian Orthodox Church loyal to Moscow and in 2023 placed its leader, Patriarch Pavlo, under house arrest. The International Religious Freedom and Belief Alliance (IRFBA), a U.S. State Department-backed initiative of 43 countries promoting freedom of religion, has accused Russia of widespread religious persecution in Ukraine. In a February report, IRFBA said Russian troops had killed 67 clergy of various denominations since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, without giving specifics. IRFBA said more than 630 religious buildings had been damaged during the Russian occupation, including 596 Christian churches. Reuters was unable to independently verify IRFBA's claims, which have been repeated by Ukrainian officials. Russia's Foreign Ministry has described the alliance's reports as based on partisan and biased information, and said any actions were taken in accordance with the law. The Ukrainian Catholic Donetsk Exarchate, the body of the church in much of East Ukraine, has operated in exile in Zaporizhzhia since 2014. Out of 77 parishes, 36 are under control of the Russian authorities, it said. Stepan Meniok, 75, who was the bishop heading the Donetsk Exarchate until his retirement in 2024, said that when Russia-led separatists took over the eastern city of Donetsk in 2014 they drove him from the diocese's seat. He settled in Zaporizhzhia. "Many displaced people pass through here, and I've heard countless stories of loss: property, lives," he said, adding he hoped for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Father Bohomaz said Russian authorities saw the Ukrainian Catholic church as a threat because it was outspoken against the occupation. "We see our people being beaten, killed, robbed, and destroyed," he said. "We stand with the people." REUTERS
Reuters
6 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Ukraine's Catholics tend to faithful driven out by Russian occupation
ZAPORIZHZHIA, July 24 (Reuters) - About 25 miles (40 km) from a slowly advancing Russian frontline, a community of Ukrainian Catholics is tending to people exiled from occupied territory to the country's eastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Church members deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainian troops and villages near the frontline and nuns offer comfort to families and especially children fleeing the war. "When kids come, especially little ones, they feel safe and cling to us, needing hugs and warmth. New kids always need that embrace," said Sister Lukia Murashko, the mother superior at Zaporizhzhia's Order of Saint Basil the Great monastery. The monastery provides a cheerful environment adorned with Ukrainian flags and greeting cards from soldiers. In June, Sister Lukia and two other nuns made a cake for the 15th birthday of Evhen, a boy who fled the occupied city of Melitopol with his mother and now lives in a drab hostel in Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, a Ukrainian denomination loyal to the Vatican named for its rites similar to eastern Orthodox churches, has over 4 million followers in Ukraine and is the country's largest branch of Catholicism. Orthodox Christianity remains the most popular religion but has declined during the past decade amid tensions over ties to Moscow. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has grown and its followers now make up 12% of the population, according to a 2024 study by the Razumkov Centre, a Ukrainian think-tank. Catholicism is traditionally predominant in Ukraine's West, but has been growing in the East of the country, much of which Russia claims as its own, including lands it occupied in 2014 and in the 2022 full-scale invasion. Moscow does not control Zaporizhzhia city and it has become a centre for internally displaced Ukrainians from occupied territories. With membership growing, the wooden St. Volodymyr chapel is getting an extension in the city, where Roman Catholicism also has a small presence. During a visit in June, about two dozen faithful and three priests in gold-brocade vestments observed a Divine Liturgy conducted by Father Andriy Bukhvak in the chapel, most of them among the displaced. After Russia occupied most of Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, it installed an administration that banned the Ukrainian Catholic Church and Catholic charities in a December 6, 2022 decree, saying they worked in the interests of foreign intelligence services and stored weapons. The decree accused parishioners of participating "in riots and anti-Russian rallies in March-April 2022." The office of the Russia-installed governor of the occupied area of Zaporizhzhia region did not immediately respond to a detailed request for comment. Father Oleksandr Bohomaz, 36, served in Melitopol, a coastal city in Zaporizhzhia region, for nine months after Russia took the town on March 1 that year along with two other priests, caring for four parishes and faithful who could not flee after authorities cracked down on the church there, he said. "We travelled around, serving as much as possible until they eventually deported us," he told Reuters. During his time under occupation, he said, the authorities stormed church services, collecting fingerprints from worshippers. In December 2022, he was interrogated and taken to a checkpoint where he was told to cross to the territory under Ukrainian control. Other Catholic priests in the Zaporizhzhia region suffered harsher treatment. In November 2022, Russia's troops raided a Greek Catholic church in Berdiansk, a city about 100 km along the coast from Melitopol. Two priests, Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, were arrested on illegal weapons charges. They were not freed until a June 2024 exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners, according to a December 2024 report by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The church denied the weapons charges. Religion has become intertwined with the war. In Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church's Patriarch Kirill has given his blessing to the invasion of Ukraine, which he calls a Holy War Last August, Ukrainian authorities banned the branch of Ukrainian Orthodox Church loyal to Moscow and in 2023 placed its leader, Patriarch Pavlo, under house arrest. The International Religious Freedom and Belief Alliance (IRFBA), a U.S. State Department-backed initiative of 43 countries promoting freedom of religion, has accused Russia of widespread religious persecution in Ukraine. In a February report, IRFBA said Russian troops had killed 67 clergy of various denominations since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, without giving specifics. IRFBA said more than 630 religious buildings had been damaged during the Russian occupation, including 596 Christian churches. Reuters was unable to independently verify IRFBA's claims, which have been repeated by Ukrainian officials. Russia's Foreign Ministry has described the alliance's reports as based on partisan and biased information, and said any actions were taken in accordance with the law. The Ukrainian Catholic Donetsk Exarchate, the body of the church in much of East Ukraine, has operated in exile in Zaporizhzhia since 2014. Out of 77 parishes, 36 are under control of the Russian authorities, it said. Stepan Meniok, 75, who was the bishop heading the Donetsk Exarchate until his retirement in 2024, said that when Russia-led separatists took over the eastern city of Donetsk in 2014 they drove him from the diocese's seat. He settled in Zaporizhzhia. "Many displaced people pass through here, and I've heard countless stories of loss: property, lives," he said, adding he hoped for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Father Bohomaz said Russian authorities saw the Ukrainian Catholic church as a threat because it was outspoken against the occupation. "We see our people being beaten, killed, robbed, and destroyed," he said. "We stand with the people."
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Zelenskyy to swap prime ministers in refresh to government
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he'll replace his prime minister in a Cabinet overhaul as the nation seeks to boost weapons production and maintain U.S. support in its war against Russia. Yulia Svyrydenko, a deputy premier who took the lead in coordinating a landmark minerals deal with President Donald Trump's administration, was nominated to replace Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Ukraine's longest-serving head of government, Shmyhal took office in 2020 and has led the Cabinet for the duration of Russia's war. Zelenskyy met with Svyrydenko, 39, on Monday to discuss "concrete measures to boost Ukraine's economic potential, expand support programs for Ukrainians, and scale up our domestic weapons production," Zelenskyy said in a social media post on X. He proposed that she "significantly renew" the work of the government. The Ukrainian president hinted at a Cabinet overhaul last week during a meeting with allies in Rome. That gathering stoked optimism about U.S. military aid, with Trump expected to send more Patriot air-defense batteries to Kyiv as part of a shift to a more confrontational stance toward the Kremlin. Svyrydenko, a former aide in Zelenskyy's office who has climbed the ranks from state administration in the Chernihiv region to high office in Kyiv, has long been subject of speculation as Shmyhal's replacement. She would become Ukraine's second female prime minister after Yulia Tymoshenko, who led the government in the years after the 2004 Orange Revolution. Ukraine's parliament would need to confirm the nomination before Svyrydenko takes office. Shmyhal and his Cabinet has come under criticism from Zelenskyy for not focusing fully on the battlefield last year, while public criticism has focused on a lack of independence. The level of trust in the Cabinet is low, along with that of the parliament and courts, polls have shown. The reshuffle conforms with Zelenskyy's preference to fill top positions with loyalists from his inner circle. His appointment of Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister last year was part of that pattern. He worked under chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak in the first two years of the war. Maintaining his grip Yuriy Yakymenko, president at the Razumkov Centre think tank, said major policy changes were unlikely - and that Zelenskyy's grip over Ukraine's wartime politics will be maintained. "The president's influence on the government remains - and it will remain in this configuration," Yakymenko said by phone. Zelenskyy weighed in on potential changes in Italy on Thursday, saying that he may appoint Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as his new envoy to the U.S. as part of a "serious reshuffle" of the Cabinet. Shmyhal, along with another deputy premier, Olha Stefanishyna, were among candidates to replace Oksana Markarova as Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. Svyrydenko has a master's degree in antitrust regulation from Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics and worked in the private sector until 2015, when she entered state government roles in Chernihiv - and led the region in the second half of 2018. She advanced to Cabinet roles in Kyiv under Zelenskyy, as deputy minister overseeing development, trade and agriculture - then as deputy head of office in the presidential office. She's held her current post, overseeing economic policy, since November 2021. An avid classical pianist, Svyrydenko is prized by Zelenskyy for following through with orders. On a panel at a conference in Kyiv last month, an attendee asked her whether she knew her nickname from those in the business community. "Top of the class," the attendee said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Almost 60% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy
Sociologists report that as of May, trust in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy among Ukrainians was 59.8%. Source: a survey conducted by the Razumkov Centre's sociological service in cooperation with the Kyiv Security Forum, conducted from 24 April to 4 May 2025 Details: The survey shows that 17.1% of Ukrainians fully trust Zelenskyy, and 42.7% rather trust him. Meanwhile, 13.7% of respondents do not trust Zelenskyy at all and 19.4% rather do not trust him. Reference: The survey was conducted face-to-face only in the territories controlled by the government of Ukraine and not subject to hostilities. A total of 2,021 respondents over the age of 18 were interviewed. The theoretical margin of error does not exceed 2.3%. However, additional systematic deviations may be present due to the consequences of Russian aggression, in particular, the forced displacement of millions of citizens. Background: A poll conducted by the Razumkov Centre sociological service from 28 February to 6 March 2025 showed Zelenskyy was trusted by 57.5%. A poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted from 4 February to 4 March showed the level of trust among Ukrainians in Zelenskyy rose from 57% in the first half of February to 68% after the deterioration of relations with the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Oval Office dispute. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
