While diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine are underway, leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) warn that Russia, under Vladimir Putin, views the conflict as a “holy war” against the West.

An OCU delegation, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany, recently participated in the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C.

His translator discussed the intense spiritual conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a key factor driving the war’s escalation.

Metropolitan Yevstratiy, deputy head of the OCU’s external church relations, characterizes Russia’s perspective: “From a religious standpoint, this is a liberation of Ukrainians from the godless West, from evil. Russia brings light and truth to Ukraine.”

Yevstratiy and other observers, including Catholic intellectual George Weigel, accuse the Russian Orthodox Church of acting as a Kremlin tool, cloaked in religious garb to serve Putin’s aims.

Weigel, writing in *First Things* magazine, notes that after Ukraine’s unexpected resistance thwarted Russia’s quick victory in February 2022, the war’s justification shifted: “The war was now a crusade in defense of Christian civilization.”

Yevstratiy recalled that at the war’s outset, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow preached to Russian soldiers that death in battle guaranteed immediate paradise and forgiveness of all sins. This, even to an outsider, seems more like “political jihad” than the Gospel.

In 2019, the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople granted Ukraine’s Orthodox Church independence from the Moscow Patriarchate, provoking outrage in Moscow. Kirill and Putin refused to acknowledge Patriarch Bartholomew’s authority.

Yevstratiy also described a more ominous war aim for Putin: beyond Soviet reunification or defending Christian civilization, he seeks an apocalyptic outcome—establishing Moscow as the “third Rome,” thereby branding other Christians (Catholics and Protestants) as heretics and pagans.

Understanding the intricacies of Orthodox churches might seem specialized. However, these churches hold deep historical significance. They trace their origins to the five ancient churches led by apostles who knew Jesus personally.

The apostle Andrew went to Constantinople; Mark to Alexandria; Peter to Antioch (Rome); James to Jerusalem; and Barnabas to Cyprus. From these apostles, along with Paul, Christianity spread globally. Thus, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has profound spiritual roots, a fact Putin understands.

Yevstratiy and Epiphany attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., where President Trump expressed his peacemaking desire.

Yevstratiy responded, “We pray and ask God Almighty to bless this very good and Christian desire.”

He added, “May God bless Ukraine. May God bless America.”

The full interview is on Lauren Green’s Lighthouse Faith podcast, available on Apple, Spotify and other platforms.