Churches across Ukraine are urging Christians worldwide to join a “Day of Prayer for Ukraine” on Aug. 24, coinciding with the country’s 34th Independence Day. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO), representing about 95% of all religious communities in Ukraine, issued the appeal as the nation continues to endure Russia’s full-scale invasion.
According to Christians Against All Persecution (CAAP), Ukrainians will celebrate their national holiday “while Russia continues its brutal war targeting civilians, including bombing their cities, churches, and cultural sites.” The group recalled that in February 2022, “Ukraine’s worst fears came to pass” when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion after years of conflict with Russian-backed separatists.
“However, the Ukrainian people have refused to surrender,” CAAP said, adding, “Indeed, the faith of Ukrainians has kept them strong.”
Ukraine remains “overwhelmingly Christian” in its spiritual outlook, with between 60% and 72% identifying as Orthodox, about 11% as Greek Catholic, and smaller percentages as Roman Catholic or Protestant, according to CAAP. Evangelical groups are active and free to worship in Ukraine, but in occupied areas, “the Russian army has arrested, fined, tortured and even killed religious leaders… closing, seizing, and even burning churches, sometimes kidnapping and disappearing pastors.”
In 2024-25, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom documented the destruction or damage of more than 640 religious sites across Ukraine and the killing of at least 47 clergy members. CAAP also noted that “Russia has kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children since the start of the war… separating them from their families, and in some cases, forcing them to fight in the Russian army.”
The prayer appeal is focusing on two main requests. First, Christians are urged to pray for persecuted believers across Ukraine, especially those in occupied territories, and for the many missing children. “Lord, we pray for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are suffering… May your Holy Spirit comfort, strengthen, and provide hope in the midst of violence and repression,” the appeal states.
Second, churches are asked to pray for the protection of religious groups facing violence, particularly the Ukrainian Orthodox community. “Lord, we pray for their safety, for protection of their places of worship. We pray you would strengthen each leader and congregation today.”
