Ukraine's Unwanted Priests: Sent to the Front, Some Never Return

In an opinion piece for Der Freitag, journalist Gerd Meissner criticizes the Ukrainian government's treatment of priests from a church with ties to Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who received the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen on May 14, 2023, has claimed to fight for European freedoms and values, including religious freedom under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The article alleges that Ukraine, an EU candidate, systematically disadvantages clergy from pro-Russian churches, leading to political imprisonment and forced deployment to the front lines, where some die. Meissner asserts that no other European country has so many church dignitaries held as political prisoners and questions whether this is coincidental.