Fitzpatrick Leads Charge to Expose and Punish Russia’s Religious Persecution in Ukraine

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, introduced the Countering Russia's War on Faith Act - bipartisan, bicameral legislation to expose and punish Russia's systematic persecution of religious communities in Ukraine and Russian-occupied territories.

Leading the effort with Fitzpatrick in the House are Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Don Bacon (R-NE), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Steve Cohen (D-TN), with companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The legislation requires the Secretaries of State and Defense to jointly report on Russia's efforts to persecute, suppress, and violate the religious freedoms of faith communities in Ukraine and Russian-occupied territories. It also directs the President to impose sanctions on foreign individuals found to have engaged in those abuses.

"Russia's war in Ukraine is not only an assault on sovereignty-it is a calculated, systemic assault on religious freedom. For Americans, the freedom to worship is among our most fundamental liberties, and we do not stand by when it is crushed by force. This legislation ensures these crimes are documented, perpetrators are identified, and real consequences follow. Peace through strength requires accountability, and the persecution of people of faith cannot be met with silence," said Fitzpatrick.

"Russia targets and kills persons of faith as a matter of policy wherever it invades. War criminal Putin seeks to prevent free worship of all believers and crushes any faith not subservient to its state-run church and corrupt former KGB agent Patriarch Kirill or otherwise submit itself to repressive state control," said Wilson. "Believers in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are targeted with particular ferocity. It is critical that we counter Russia's War on Faith."

"Putin is a war criminal conducting genocide in Ukraine. He is also attempting to erase expressions of Ukrainian identity, including religious freedoms. This legislation makes plain that these human rights violations will be a focus of our foreign policy and that the United States will always defend religious liberty," said Cohen.

"Russia's widespread religious persecution in Ukraine dates back centuries, and is 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," said Kaptur. "This important legislation calls out the abuses committed by the Russian state and its agents against Ukrainian Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other faiths. Russia perversely portrays Ukraine as a persecutor of Christians, when it is Moscow that has destroyed over 600 churches, synagogues, mosques, and places of worship in Ukraine throughout this war. These new attacks are a shameful reminder of Russian pogroms and attacks on religious communities dating back centuries. The United States must hold these war criminals accountable and defend religious freedom and the right of all Ukrainians to worship as they choose."

"Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine is not only an attack on a country that seeks democracy, free markets, and alignment with the West, but also includes a deliberate campaign to suppress and persecute religious communities," said Bacon. "Countering Russia's War on Faith Act will ensure we fully document these abuses and hold those responsible accountable through sanctions. I'm pleased to join Rep. Wilson and my colleagues in this bipartisan effort to stand up for religious liberty and the Ukrainian people."

"Vladimir Putin's brutal war on Ukraine is not just about violating its sovereignty, but erasing the democratic values Ukraine has embraced. He seeks to erase freedom of religion in Ukraine by disproportionately targeting places of worship and practitioners of any religion other than his own," said Quigley. "I am proud to cosponsor Rep. Wilson's Countering Russia's War on Faith Act to make it clear that those who burn churches, persecute religious communities, and try to erase religious diversity will be held accountable. The United States must lead with moral clarity by defending religious freedom and confronting Putin's abuses."

"Religious liberty is not a suggestion in America - it's one of our founding promises protected by the Constitution and lived out every day by generations of freedom-loving Americans. Anyone with a brain larger than a single cell organism knows that Vladimir Putin does not respect nor share that view. The Countering Russia's War on Faith Act shines a bright light on Putin's religious persecution and responds with real consequences," said Sen. Kennedy.

"Putin's murderous regime has repeatedly bombed places of worship, murdered clergy members, and persecuted Ukrainian communities not aligned with the Putin-allied Russian Orthodox Church. It's time for the U.S. to take a stand for religious freedom and explore sanctions against individuals engaging in these brutal human rights abuses in Ukraine," said Sen. Whitehouse.

The full text of HR-8433 (S-4379) is available here.

Background

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, more than 600 churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious sites have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 50 Ukrainian clergy members have been killed. In occupied territories, Protestant, Catholic, Crimean Tatar, and Orthodox Christian communities not aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church have faced raids, forced re-registration, detention, and criminal prosecution. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has gone so far as to characterize the invasion as a "holy war," helping provide ideological cover for a broader campaign of religious repression and forced Russification.

Congressman Fitzpatrick has been one of Congress's most consistent and outspoken advocates for the Ukrainian people and for a foreign policy rooted in strength, principle, and accountability. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, he has not only led legislative efforts in Washington, but has engaged this fight firsthand - traveling to Ukraine, including areas near the front lines, to stand directly with those defending their country, their sovereignty, and their freedom of conscience. He has repeatedly made clear that peace cannot be built on appeasement, silence, or moral ambiguity.

That same conviction is reflected in Fitzpatrick's broader legislative leadership, including his Peace Through Strength Against Russia Act of 2025 - comprehensive bipartisan legislation designed to intensify pressure on the Kremlin, force meaningful negotiations, deter further aggression, and ensure that any peace agreement is real, durable, and accepted by the free and independent Government of Ukraine. That legislation would impose sweeping sanctions on senior Russian officials, oligarchs, state-owned enterprises, and entities fueling Russia's defense, energy, and transportation sectors, while establishing a clear standard: sanctions can be lifted only if Russia fully ceases hostilities and enters into a peace agreement accepted by Ukraine and subject to congressional review.

Together, the Countering Russia's War on Faith Act and the Peace Through Strength Against Russia Act reflect Fitzpatrick's clear and consistent view that Putin's war is not simply a territorial conflict - it is a broader assault on freedom itself: freedom of nationhood, freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, and freedom from authoritarian tyranny. And the United States has a responsibility to meet that assault with clarity, resolve, and consequences.