«Religion on Fire»: Documenting Russia’s War Crimes in Ukraine

In March 2022 Workshop for the Academic Study of Religions has launched the project Religion on Fire: Documenting Russia’s War Crimes against Religious Communities in Ukraine, which is aimed to record and document the damage suffered by religious buildings as a result of military actions of the Russian army in Ukraine, as well as killing, wounding and abduction of religious leaders of various denominations. The methodology of gathering data from open sources (based on Berkley Protocol on Digital Open Source Investigations) is combined with collecting information from religious organizations and field trips. The collected information is used to compile a data base of damaged and destroyed religious buildings. Infographics and short videos in both Ukrainian and English are made to raise awareness about the impact the war has on the religious communities of Ukraine. According to the data collected as for December 9, 2022, at least 373 religious buildings are damaged, 35 of which completely destroyed. The majority of buildings (187) belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate, but the damage to religious minorities is far more severe.