Philosopher Baumeister Compares Church Attack in Chernivtsi to Russian Aggression

Renowned Ukrainian philosopher Andriy Baumeister made a strong statement about the events in Chernivtsi, where activists of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) stormed a church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In a conversation with Vitaliy Dykiy, he compared the attackers’ actions to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. According to Baumeister, amid constant external threats and psychological pressure, it is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens to distinguish between the aggression of an outside enemy and the lawlessness of their own government, which exploits the war to achieve political goals. The interview was published on Baumeister’s YouTube channel.

Baumeister pointed out that the attack in Chernivtsi occurred on the same day a Russian missile struck a residential building in Kyiv. “Of course, these are not the same events,” he noted. “But in both cases, we are witnessing violence: here it’s an enemy missile from outside, and there — it’s our own beating our own, priests with bloodied faces and cuts.”

He described the Russian missile strike as a tragedy, and the actions of OCU activists as a crime. “The tragedy comes from an external enemy, but this is a crime committed in a peaceful neighborhood, where there is no fighting — where war is being started from within society,” he explained. Baumeister emphasized that the Chernivtsi events also represent a state of war.

The philosopher also sharply criticized how Ukrainian media covered the incident. In particular, he called articles in Ukrainska Pravda “childish narratives” in which activists depict themselves as peaceful believers who merely “came to pray in Ukrainian,” thereby exerting psychological pressure on public opinion.

Baumeister also warned of a deeper problem — war as a state of mind within society. “For many activist groups, war is not only external — it has permeated the inside. Aggression, conflict, raiding, psychological and media attacks have become the lifestyle of Ukrainian activist circles,” he concluded.

It should also be recalled that legal expert and religious affairs specialist Dmytro Vovk stated that the law allowing for the banning of religious organizations due to ties with the Russian Orthodox Church violates international standards and replaces individual responsibility with collective punishment. In his view, Ukrainian legislation conflicts with the country’s international obligations.