Religious Actors Key to Peacebuilding in Ukraine, Russia: Report

‘Despite their covert status, these projects are playing an important role in building bridges and de-escalating tensions,’ the report said.

Metropolitan Epiphanius I, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, sprinkles holy water on believers on April 9, 2023, after a service which marks the Orthodox feast of Palm Sunday in a church at the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters

Religious actors have the potential to radically encourage and shape peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia but are being overlooked by policymakers, according to a new report.

Despite a strong secular focus in American and European strategy circles, religion is directly informing the geopolitical and military aspects of the war in Ukraine, according to a report published by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP).