Russians destroy shrines in Crimea, priest forced to flee

People are being driven to paranoia and fabricated cases of terrorism, and some are being forcibly sent for treatment to psychiatric clinics.

The Atesh guerrilla movement, which has its agents in the temporarily occupied Crimea, has announced the recording of large-scale repressions against religious communities on the peninsula, pressure on numerous religious groups, as well as the removal or destruction of some places of worship. Representatives of the guerrilla movement reported this on January 5.

The activities of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the peninsula have effectively ceased, and the Russian authorities have moved from administrative pressure to the physical destruction of religious objects.

“In Yevpatoria, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was completely demolished. In Simferopol, the dome of the Cathedral of Saints Volodymyr and Olga was demonstratively dismantled and the building was finally sealed. Due to constant threats of forced mobilization, the last Ukrainian priest was forced to leave Crimea – and this put an end to the official existence of the diocese on the peninsula,” the movement’s statement says.

According to the partisans, terror against Jehovah’s Witnesses communities in Sevastopol and other cities continues in parallel.

“We are recording facts of illegal searches and threats of deprivation of parental rights, as well as cases of forced psychiatric treatment of believers. People are being driven to paranoia and cases of terrorism are being fabricated for their pacifist views, while completely blocking any connections with the world. Crimean Tatar Muslim communities are experiencing similar pressure, which refuse to cooperate with structures appointed by Moscow,” the statement says.

Until 2014, all these communities lived in safety within Ukraine and did not know such problems. Today, faith has become a pretext for imprisonment and state terror.