Some of this week’s readings and multimedia sources detail on-the-ground civilian resistance efforts in Ukraine in the midst of their ongoing, protracted war with Russia. These endeavors come from within the country, as described in Professor Amos’s July article about state-compensated civilian groups tasked with shooting down Russian drones, as well as international religious missionary volunteers. The film, A Faith Under Siege, depicts the journeys of Christian volunteers from the U.S. traveling to Ukraine to support defense against Russia’s “Holy War” on Ukrainian evangelical Christians. I was surprised to hear the film describe the primary motivation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as religious, rather than territorial dominance or threats to Putin’s authoritarian regime. Explaining this religious persecution, Ukrainian evangelicals say that it is their congregation’s devotion to faith that scares the Russian government, as they see it as a threat to the efficacy of their authoritarian propaganda efforts. While, yes, religion has historically been utilized as a hotbed of resistance against hostile government forces, I found it difficult to believe this could be the leading rationale for Russia’s continued military attack. As is outlined in other readings from this week, it seems as though assaults on Ukrainian evangelical Christians are rather only one part of Russia’s goal to destroy all Ukrainian institutions of power in an attempt to take control of the territory.
There were other parts of the documentary that also made me slightly uneasy. One of these aspects was the link between Christian missionaries and citizen aid. Viewers of the film watch as Christians in the U.S., galvanized to fight for their faith in Ukraine against Russian forces, visit Ukraine to provide ministry to citizens, specifying that they are not there on behalf of the U.S. government. However, it is not merely prayers and religious reassurance that they provide to ‘believers.’ One Christian volunteer is a former U.S. Marine and teaches Ukrainian civilian fighters how to tie an effective tourniquet. This scene led to my main concern: is the expertise and aid provided by volunteers being solely provided to Ukrainian Christians? It is extremely moving and makes a lot of sense that, in the midst of immense hardship and loss, Ukrainians are turning to religion as a way to process these emotions. However, conversely, are citizens of Ukraine being taken advantage of by missionaries in their time of need, and being force-fed religious teachings in order to receive the aid and combat training potentially provided by these volunteers? Missionary groups have historically used international military conflict as a way to gain religious converts, exploiting civilian trauma. It is crucial to ensure that religious volunteers in Ukraine, who have independently travelled with the intent of protecting Christianity, do not similarly take advantage of Ukrainian citizens traumatized by this ceaseless military conflict.
