The Russo-Ukrainian war continues to escalate, with major advancements in drone technology threatening only more severe destruction to Ukraine in the near future. Simultaneously, as the number of Ukrainians in need of foreign asylum increases (with 4.2 million refugees already registered for temporary protection in EU states as of February), EU nations’ resources–– and willingness to provide aid–– are dwindling. In Germany, the world’s third-largest refugee hosting country with over 1.2 million Ukrainian migrants at present, leaders are struggling to accommodate a persistent need for asylum. The country is grappling with strained public services and a severe housing crisis. Consequently, in the past year, benefits for asylum seekers have narrowed to a “bed, bread, soap” approach–– basic assistance is still provided, but Ukrainians in Germany are not receiving comprehensive aid from the government. Nearing the end of his term in the spring, Chancellor Scholz became increasingly hard on asylum seekers, and implemented heightened border controls in Germany akin to those of neighboring countries. At the same time, anti-migrant sentiment in Germany is growing, with heightened attacks on asylum seekers reflecting a growing sense of frustration and xenophobia in Germany.
Still, Germany’s response to the Ukrainian crisis is set apart from its neighbors of Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands, which plainly discourage asylum seekers from entering their borders. The question stewing in Germany across all of the sources for this week is one I think would be quite familiar to American audiences: where (else) is there for asylum seekers to go?
Along this vein, I was fascinated in this week’s sources by the connection between American and Ukrainian Evangelical Christians in A Faith Under Siege. Christian Hickey’s disapproval of Tucker Carlson’s misinformation regarding the treatment of Christians in Ukraine (even though Hickey is a self-proclaimed supporter of Carlson), was one particularly notable instance where political lines and national borders fell to a sense of common faith and compassion. A Faith Under Siege led me to wonder about the religious practices of Ukrainian refugees living in Germany and around the EU. Is the resurgence of Christian community and faith which took place in Kherson following its liberation (and in other parts of Ukraine) also happening amongst migrant Ukrainians in Berlin and other European cities? (And, on a more skeptical note, is this “resurgence” overblown or exaggerated in the documentary, which is clearly steeped in a Christian and American perspective?) How might Christianity characterize the Ukrainian perception of the war in “Europe’s bible belt”? What is the role of religious difference in the refugee experience in Germany, which is also currently accommodating asylum seekers from Syria in comparable numbers? (interesting read on religious differences amongst migrants in Germany: https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/04/30/the-religious-refugee-experience-in-germany/) And can a resurgence in Evangelical and Protestant faith amongst Ukrainians help to counteract the attack on their nation? (I would be interested in researching the religious practices of Ukrainian refugees in Germany on our trip to Berlin next month.)