A human rights activist criticized a statement by the head of the Ukrainian Baptist Church regarding "freedom of religion" in the country

A speech in the U.S. by Valery Antonyuk, head of the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptist Churches, drew sharp criticism from Christian human rights activists. According to (SPZ), the religious leader’s statements claiming there are no problems with the rights of believers in Ukraine caused outrage among members of the American community.

During his address, Valery Antonuk called on the Ukrainian diaspora to work more closely with U.S. authorities to lobby for Ukraine’s interests, while asserting that reports of religious persecution are Russian propaganda. However, these claims were challenged by Boris Perchatkin, a former Soviet political prisoner and human rights activist who lives in the United States. He accused the head of the Baptists of deliberately distorting the facts.

Perchatkin pointed to the persecution of believers of various denominations, including Baptists and Adventists, for refusing military service on grounds of conscience, and also cited data on the harsh methods used by TCC officers. The human rights activist emphasized that the mass exodus of citizens abroad and attempts to flee the country are evidence of a deep crisis in civil liberties, not their flourishing. It should be recalled that representatives of the American political establishment had previously expressed concern about the situation regarding religious freedom in Ukraine.

“How many people in Ukraine have been jailed for refusing to take up arms? How many pacifists have been jailed? How many Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals, and Baptists have been jailed? What happens to them when they’re drafted into the army? There, they’re fed scraps, forced to clear minefields, and then people are left without arms or legs,” asks Boris Perchatkin.