For example, in November 2022, Russian forces in the small Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka abducted evangelical deacon Anatoliy Prokopchuk and his 19-year-old son.
Days later in a nearby forest, the two were found dead with signs of torture so brutal, their friends said they were “mutilated beyond recognition,” according to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine.
Several evangelicals who thankfully survived torture have shared their horrifying stories.
Azat Azatyan, a Baptist children’s pastor who helps oppressed Christians flee Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, was captured by Russian security services on his 25th evacuation trip. After dragging him to a basement, where he spent the next 43 days, they put a bag over his head, handcuffed his hands to his legs and connected electrical wires to his genitals.
While torturing him, Azatyan said, they “mocked me” for being a Baptist. To Russians, “Baptists are American spies,” and they “beat me so badly that they thought that I was dead.” Azatyan survived: “I truly knew that my God was with me.”
Baptist Pastor Oleksandr Salfetnikov was abducted by Russians in May 2022, driven to a detention center, thrown in a cell, interrogated and beaten for three days. He said his captors were convinced that “all evangelical believers are American spies” and wanted him to confess.
His arm was broken. He couldn’t walk. His body was swollen. He collapsed and fell unconscious. When he woke up, he was in the basement of a medical institution, with his wife by his side. He survived, and after the Ukrainians won back control of Balaklia, he returned to his church.
Apparently, torturing and killing individuals isn’t enough. The Russians have also gone after entire congregations.
On Sept. 11, 2022, 20 armed Russian soldiers burst in on the worship service at Grace Evangelical Church in the occupied city of Melitopol, the Rev. Mikhaylo Brytsyn told the PBS NewsHour. One soldier took over the stage, telling women and children to go downstairs to be fingerprinted. The Russians copied worshippers’ IDs and took photos.
“It’s horrifying to think about what they can do with this information,” Brytsyn said.
Other Christian churches have suffered similar crackdowns, and scores across occupied areas have been shut down. Under surveillance and risking persecution, those believers are now forced to worship in secret, in their homes.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-killi ... 38888.html