Persecution and Resilience in Luhansk: Viktor’s Story of Courage and Religious Freedom Struggles!

Hi, my name is Viktor. I was born in Luhansk.

Almost my whole life, I have been a believer in the Evangelical Church. After the Russians came to my native city of Luhansk, they restricted any type of congregation except the Orthodox Russian Church.

My church was prohibited from ministering and holding Sunday services. One day, I was captured on the road by Russians and imprisoned in their basement, where I was tortured. On one occasion, while being teased by electricity and tortured with baseball bats, they invited a Russian Orthodox Church priest.

He told me that because I am an Evangelical Christian, he had to cast demons out of me. While I was being tortured, the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church watched me.

Those Evangelical Christians who stayed in Luhansk are still prohibited from having gatherings on Sundays, and they cannot conduct their services.

Every church that is not an Orthodox or Protestant Baptist Church is labeled by Russia as a foreign agent.