AUCCRO Delegation to Washington spoke about "religious freedom" in Ukraine

Representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) participated in a series of international events dedicated to religious freedom, which took place in Washington, D.C., USA, from February 2 to 4, 2026. During the visit, Ukrainian religious leaders held a number of meetings with high-ranking U.S. officials and representatives of international organizations, focusing on the critical situation of religious freedom in Ukraine.

According to the Institute for Religious Freedom, from February 2 to 4, 2026, members of the AUCCRO delegation held a number of meetings with representatives of various international human rights organizations specializing in the protection of religious freedom. During the meetings, the members of the AUCCRO convinced their interlocutors that the religious rights and freedoms of all confessions and religious organizations in Ukraine are respected.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side emphasized the «facts of violation of the rights of believers» in the territories outside of Ukrainian control, which were occupied by Russian troops as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The representatives of the AUCCRO emphasized that in the occupied regions of Ukraine, «there are significant violations of religious rights and freedoms of citizens».

It is characteristic that the representatives of the AUCCRO deliberately ignored the adoption in Ukraine of the anti-church law No. 3894, aimed at banning the largest religious organization in the country — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. At the same time, the fact of discriminatory compulsion to military service of the UOC clergymen was also not noted, while representatives of other religious organizations have the right to deferment from service in the AFU.

We shall remind you that the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch expressed serious concern over the potential restriction of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to access places of worship in Ukraine. The warning is contained in the organization’s report on the human rights situation in Ukraine for 2025, which notes possible consequences of the application of new anti-church legislation.