Religious persecution has become a shadow warfront in Russia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine. This includes the systematic suppression of religious freedom, particularly targeting evangelical Christians.
In A Faith Under Siege, Colby Barrett and Ukraine-based aid worker Steven Moore document hidden abuses—arrests, torture, and the weaponization of the Russian Orthodox Church–against dissenters. Their work illuminates how the Kremlin is waging an ideological crusade, criminalizing noncompliant faiths and using religion to justify authoritarian expansion.
Barrett, a former U.S. Marine Corps captain, and Moore, a former U.S. House Chief of Staff and founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project, have joined forces in A Faith Under Siege, a harrowing and humanizing documentary about the persecution of Christians in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Barrett, now an orchard owner, and Moore, who has lived in Ukraine since the fifth day of the war, bring unique frontline perspectives to a conflict that many Americans only glimpse through headlines.
Barrett says that the project began unexpectedly. “I was getting ready for harvest…a friend called me up and said, hey, do you want to go on an aid convoy to Ukraine? And I said, absolutely not,” he laughs. “But I really felt like a pull on my heart to go and help.” Once he began researching the situation, he was shocked. “What blew my mind was what Russia was doing to Christians… primarily evangelical Christians in the occupied territories. I was just so surprised that so few people were covering this.”
Despite never having made a documentary, Barrett took on the challenge. “I have built teams before,” he says, referencing his leadership in the Marines and corporate world. With help from Moore and the Ukraine Freedom Project, Barrett assembled award-winning Ukrainian film crews and traveled the frontlines—from Kharkiv to Kherson—documenting firsthand accounts of religious oppression. “We were able to get access that so few people have,” Barrett notes. “It was firsthand stories of Ukrainian Christians that had suffered under Russian occupation.”
Moore explains how the project was able to operate so close to the front. “First, you bring a U.S. Marine,” he says, smiling. “The Ukrainian military is happy to see me… a lot of this is run on a shoestring.” Moore emphasizes that the persecution of Christians is not exaggerated. “Russia has shut down every church in occupied Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has made it a crime to have a Bible study in your home… you can go to prison for 20 years and be beaten and tortured every day.”
The documentary highlights individual stories of unimaginable suffering and unwavering faith. “We worked with a pastor… who decided to stay rather than flee,” Moore recalls. “He’d been hit five times by Russian drones or artillery.” This persecution isn’t limited to clergy. “One of the stories that sticks with me was a guy named Viktor,” Barrett says. “He was captured by the Russians and tortured for 25 days.” Later, “they brought in a Russian Orthodox priest to cast out demons from him because he was a Protestant.” Barrett adds, “There was no conversion. It was just torture and hate.”
The Russian state’s manipulation of religion is central to Russian strategy, Moore argues. “The Russian Orthodox Church is a working arm of the Kremlin. Patriarch Kirill… recently declared a holy war on Ukraine and the West.” He explains that some Ukrainian Orthodox clergy aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate have actively assisted Russian forces. “This Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a spy network… 85% of Ukrainians see this church as a national security threat.” Barrett draws a historical parallel: “This is the same thing we had in the American Revolution with the Anglican Church… The Ukrainian government is saying, ‘You need to separate from Moscow.’”
Contrary to Russian propaganda, Moore insists, “What you hear from Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens” he says, as examples, “it’s just not true.” Barrett adds, “Unfortunately, too many people in the U.S. have just swallowed that line without doing any real research.” Most of the movie, he adds, “is really about what’s happening to evangelical Christians at the hands of the Russians.”
What is emerging in Ukraine despite the trials, is a nation finding strength through faith. Barrett highlights a spiritual revival: “They just instituted a national Day of Prayer, a national prayer breakfast, created an entire chaplain corps–this is a society that sees how impactful faith is.” Moore contrasts this with Russia’s spiritual decay: “Only 3% of them go to church weekly… highest rates of suicide, abortion, divorce, and alcoholism.”
The reception to A Faith Under Siege has been overwhelming. According to Barrett, CBN is anchor partner, and a special is planned with TBN. “Salem jumped on there,” Barrett shares. But it’s the smaller gatherings that are most impactful. “Church screenings are so much more impactful.” The responses have been powerful. Barrett says the film is typically met with “some variation of ‘I had no idea, or ‘This totally changed my mind on this subject,’ or ‘his doesn’t match with all the TikTok garbage that I’ve seen.’”
Moore says specific cases led to the project. “Victor… he’s the reason that all of us here are talking right now.” From being tortured in a basement to flying drones on the front lines, Victor’s story lit the flame. For Barrett, another powerful figure is Sergei, a man who lost his wife and four-month-old son to a Russian drone attack. “He said, ‘We cannot let hatred consume our hearts–revenge is for the Lord.’”
Faith Under Siege was created for a purpose, according to Barrett. “Christians in America…you give them good information, they’re going to make good decisions,” he says. “The problem is they’ve been fed a steady diet of garbage.” But he says, “the truth still works.”
