Christians are suffering serious religious liberty violations in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine, Release International has warned.
The non-profit organisation says the scale of the hostility is reminiscent of Soviet-era repression, with imprisonment, torture, and murder all on the rise.
In Russia, Christian preacher Eduard Charov is facing trial after questioning the morality of the war in Ukraine on social media.
His 2023 post read ,"Would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine?"
In occupied Ukraine, a Christian leader has been jailed over public opposition to the war, and churches that share this view are at risk of demolition or other forms of intimidation, Release said.
A Protestant woman, named only as Olena, from Melitopol in occupied Ukraine, is being held in a prison in Donetsk over remarks she made at a prayer meeting. She was due to stand trial on 15 August for spreading 'knowingly false information' about Russia's armed forces, and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Release CEO Paul Robinson said that the cases "reflect the rising persecution of Christians in Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukraine".
"Christian leaders have been tortured, disappeared, and murdered for taking a Christian stand, in what looks worryingly like a return to the bad old days of Christian persecution under the Soviet Union," he said.
Charov, who runs a homeless shelter with his wife, is due to stand trial this month and is expecting a prison sentence.
He told the Russian media outlet Takiye Dela: "I already have a suitcase packed at home. My wife will look after the shelter in the meantime. And I will continue to help people in prison. There are people in need everywhere."
The 53 year old faces up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to a million roubles.
The plight of Christians speaking out against the war was highlighted by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in its most recent report.
"State retaliation against those who spoke out against Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine using religious language or on moral grounds [has] continued at startling heights," it said.
"In Russian-occupied territories [of Ukraine], de facto authorities banned religious groups, raided houses of worship, and disappeared religious leaders.
"In the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian authorities banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and closed Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Roman Catholic, and Baptist churches. At the end of the year, the whereabouts of several priests whom Russian forces had detained ... remained unknown."
