“The militants used the Bibles to keep fires going and to cook food”

Protestants are considered a tiny minority in Ukraine largely due to the stereotypes created in the past by Soviet antireligious propaganda and sustained by the mass media. Evidently, no totalitarian or authoritarian regime appreciates a large group of people who pledge allegiance not to the country’s leader, or the leader’s ideology, but to the Kingdom of God, and who are not afraid to lay down their lives for their allegiance. Religious communities and their representatives must be able to function and perform their duties in a predictable and safe environment. Protestant Christians base their daily living on the teachings of the Bible and believe that the Bible is the inspired, authoritative word of God. Several Christian ministers have not been allowed to re-enter the occupied territories. Several other Protestant ministers who live and minister in Ukraine have been given persona non grata status by the authorities of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.