Captured by Moscow during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the POWs were transferred to Hungary earlier this month, with the help of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/2023/06/23/hungarys-relationship-with-ukraine-strained-by-prisoner-exchange-with-russia

March 12 (UPI) -- Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has blasted Ukrainian officials for ordering a Russian-aligned church to leave a Kyiv monastery.

Source: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2023/03/12/On-This-Day-Kidnapped-teen-Elizabeth-Smart-found-alive-in-Utah/1161678551488/

Others only thinly veil their extremism in traditional Orthodox Russian imperialism, exemplified by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) leadership and former paramilitary commander Igor Strelkov aka Girkin.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/13/when-russia-calls-others-nazis-it-should-be-taking-a-hard-look-at-itself

Reading it made me wonder whether American religious groups and individuals may one day have to “go underground” like the Russian Orthodox Church did between 1917 and 1990.

Source: https://americanfreepress.net/christians-are-in-the-crosshairs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=christians-are-in-the-crosshairs

Russian President Vladimiron Thursday ordered a 36-hour cease fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas after an appeal from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a step Ukraine had earlier dismissed as a cynical trap.

Source: https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/01/05/putin-orders-cease-fire-in-ukraine-over-orthodox-christmas-kremlin/

The Russian Orthodox Church continues to consider churches under the UOC and OCU as part of their church, appointing bishops in the contested territories.

Source: https://www.samfordcrimson.com/ukraine-moves-to-ban-orthodox-churches-over-alleged-russian-ties-2023-10-25.html

Ukrainian officials believe the Russian Orthodox Church has close links with the Russian government.

Source: https://observers.france24.com/en/europe/20230411-ukraine-fire-orthodox-church-debunked-video-novopoltavka