“For more than 70 years, most Ukrainians … received an education that praised the ideals of the Soviet state and advocated the development of a new form of man, one who repudiated religious belief as backward and unpatriotic,” according to the report.
“Even after more than 30 years of Ukraine’s independence, the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (map) remains among the more secular regions of Ukraine … Most people declare themselves atheists; some are baptized Orthodox, but do not practice their faith … However, during this past year of war, numerous people have turned to [Ukrainian Catholic] sisters, asking for help and confiding in them their burdens: the destruction of their homes, the deaths of their friends, the departure of their children.”