Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned last week that Russia was preparing for a “massive new strike,” reported The Guardian.
So far, the warning remains in effect, according to Reuters. Last week, the Russians warned that there will be “systemic strikes” on targets in Kyiv a day after they launched the biggest bombardment on Kyiv since 2022.
What does this mean for the Christians in the country?
Colby Barrett is a former U.S. Marine Corps captain and a producer of “A Faith Under Siege,” a powerful documentary released in May 2025 that exposed Russia’s brutal crackdown on faith in occupied Ukraine. He told the “Washington Watch” program that the documentary is what got him involved in Ukraine.
While Barrett admits that this was his first documentary, he did have military experience leading a convoy and putting teams together.
“We had to go out there in areas that were relatively close to the front and talk to people, priests that had been tortured by the Russian forces, a lot of pastors that had been forcibly deported from the occupied portions of Ukraine as well as folks that had lost their churches and their homes to Russian attacks,” Barrett states.
This is a story that’s received little media response. Barrett hopes the documentary has helped inform people. He says that the whole point of the documentary is for people, especially Christians, to know what is happening to Ukrainian Christians.
“It's a very overwhelmingly faithful nation. I think more than 80% of Ukrainians would identify as Christians,” Barrett says.
He notes there are churches everywhere, with a very diverse groups of Christians, denominations and sects. They were also the first ones targeted, he says, when Russia came to occupy the area, starting with Protestants, Catholics and later Orthodox.
“Protestants are usually first on the list. They're seen as being kind of an American religion. Therefore, they must be working with the CIA is the theory. So, the Protestant pastors and congregations are targeted first,” says Barrett.
Furthermore, Barrett says the statistics of what is happening to Christians in Ukraine are “pretty crazy.” Fifty-eight priests or pastors, he says, have been killed as part of the invasion. The Baptist Press reported that 737 churches in Ukraine have been attacked by Russia during the first four years of the war.
There have also been multiple church bombings, Barrett says, with Shahed and Iskander missiles.
“I was trying to think about how many churches I’ve been to in Ukraine and free Ukraine and how many had been hit. I think the vast majority of the ones that I’ve visited have been hit since I’ve been there last,” he states.
The danger is real, but Barrett says there appear to be signs of hope for Ukraine.
“Recently, you're seeing strikes on Moscow, the mid-range drone activity. They've been able to cut off one of the major roads that connects Russia to occupied Crimea, and Russia's advance has actually turned negative now. I think in the last month Ukraine regained 115 or 116 square kilometers of territory,” Barrett reports.
He’s been to Ukraine three times and traveled the entire length of the front line. Victories are celebrated, but it’s still brutal and violent on the front.
More success for Ukraine
In earlier stages, Ukraine had seen little success, he says, such as when it advanced into the Russian city Kursk, only to be driven back.
Now, Barrett says it seems the war is changing tides.
“I think Russia has lost somewhere between 1.3 and 1.4 million casualties, more than any conflict that they've been in since World War II. So, the number of troops that they're losing there and pieces of equipment, especially air defense, has really been what's turning the tide as Ukraine’s been able to destroy those air defense systems,” Barrett states.
Barret comments that the war has cause Ukraine to upgrade their defense system. About 70% of the weapons Ukraine is using were made in their home country, he says. With their drone technology, Barrett says they can push farther back.
