In the article authors identify the greatest security challenges for religious organizations of Ukraine during Russian-Ukrainian war. In conditions of martial law, external threats and risks associated with the existential dimension become particularly acute. In the context of armed conflict and military operations, issues of survival assume paramount importance. Religious communities, like all other civilian populations, incur substantial losses and are perpetually vulnerable during the active phase of armed conflict. Security challenges are defined by authors as the most significant factor in changes in religious life in Ukraine during martial law. Among them authors examine in detail war crimes in which clergy become victim; significant restrictions on religious rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; damage and destruction of religious infrastructure as a result of military actions and shelling; various forms of cooperation, collaboration or ties between some religious organizations or clergy and the aggressor country. In the context of the war, religious organizations in Ukraine are suffering significant losses (material, institutional, human resources) because of military actions, the seizure of territories and war crimes committed. These factors are precipitating changes in the lives of religious communities and affecting state-church relations and interfaith relations. Issues of religious security are a particular focus of attention at the level of the state and religious organizations in Ukraine, as well as at the international level (world ecclesial centers, international non-government organizations, human rights initiatives).
Kondratieva et al. (Thu,) studied this question.