Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected allegations that his government is persecuting Christians, defending religious freedom in Ukraine and criticizing American political commentator Tucker Carlson for making claims about a country he suggested Carlson had never visited.
Zelensky addressed the accusations during a Saturday interview with Tony Perkins on “This Week on Capitol Hill.”
“We are very free,” Zelensky said, pointing to what he described as Europe’s largest council of religious institutions, whose representatives gather monthly at the presidential office.
According to Zelensky, the council brings together Christian, Jewish, Catholic and Muslim representatives to address religious concerns, coordinate humanitarian assistance and discuss the destruction of religious buildings and the reported imprisonment and torture of religious leaders by Russian forces.
Responding to Carlson, the former Fox News host, Zelensky said he “doesn’t know what’s going on in Ukraine” and suggested that Carlson could visit the country to see the destruction caused by Russia and how Ukrainians treat people of different faiths and nationalities. He emphasized that national unity across Ukraine’s diverse population is essential to resisting the Russian invasion.
During the interview, Perkins also raised reports of Russian troops detaining and torturing Christian pastors and seizing churches in occupied Ukrainian territories. Zelensky alleged that Russian forces had deliberately targeted religious communities, killing approximately 120 representatives of religious institutions.
The president’s defense of religious freedom comes amid continuing controversy over Ukraine’s restrictions on religious organizations with connections to Moscow.
In 2024, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed legislation targeting religious organizations affiliated with Russia, including those linked to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which historically maintained ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, declared its separation from Moscow in May 2022 in opposition to Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian authorities have accused the UOC of maintaining connections with the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, characterized the invasion as “holy.” The legislation did not target the separate Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which received recognition of its independence in 2019. Zelensky defended the measure as a step toward “spiritual independence.”
Authorities have also accused some UOC clergy of disseminating Russian propaganda and engaging in espionage, allegations that church advocates have disputed. The Ukrainian Council of Churches supported the legislation, citing reports of clergy killed and hundreds of churches destroyed by Russian forces. UOC parishes were given at least nine months to decide whether to end their affiliation with the church.
Bob Amsterdam, an attorney representing the UOC, previously told Carlson that Ukrainian authorities were targeting the church for political reasons.
