[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4379 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4379
To require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to
jointly submit a report on efforts by the Government of the Russian
Federation to violate the religious freedoms of the people of Ukraine,
to require the President to impose all applicable sanctions with
respect to foreign persons determined to have engaged in such efforts,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 2026
Mr. Kennedy (for himself and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to
jointly submit a report on efforts by the Government of the Russian
Federation to violate the religious freedoms of the people of Ukraine,
to require the President to impose all applicable sanctions with
respect to foreign persons determined to have engaged in such efforts,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Russia's War on Faith Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the
Russian Federation, Russian occupation authorities have imposed
policies that restrict, suppress, and eliminate freedom of
religion and belief, in violation of international law and
civilian protections under the law of armed conflict.
(2) The United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom has documented that Russian authorities in occupied
Ukrainian territories have engaged in severe violations of
religious freedom, including the detention, torture,
disappearance, and unlawful imprisonment of clergy and
believers, as well as the closure and confiscation of houses of
worship.
(3) According to Ukrainian authorities and independent
monitoring groups, Russian forces have damaged or destroyed
more than 600 churches, synagogues, mosques, and other
religious sites since the start of the Russian Federation's
full-scale invasion.
(4) The Russian Federation has killed more than 50
Ukrainian priests, pastors, and other religious leaders during
the Russian Federation's invasion, and many others have been
abducted, detained, tortured, or forcibly disappeared in
occupied territories.
(5) Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Crimean Tatar, and Orthodox
Christian communities not aligned with the Russian Orthodox
Church have been subjected to raids, forced re-registration
under Russian law, intimidation, and criminal prosecution, with
many congregations driven underground or permanently shuttered.
(6) Religious buildings in occupied areas have been seized
and repurposed for military or administrative use, religious
literature has been confiscated, and charitable ministries
dismantled, eroding both the spiritual and humanitarian
foundations of local communities.
(7) The Russian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill of
Moscow, has publicly framed the invasion in theological terms,
describing the war as a ``holy war'' having ``metaphysical
significance'' and stating in a September 2022 sermon that if a
soldier dies in the performance of military duty, ``this
sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has
committed''. According to the Committee on International
Religious Freedom, ``Russian de facto authorities often commit
religious freedom violations to facilitate the dominance of the
Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in these
territories''.
(8) The Russian Federation's actions demonstrate a
systematic campaign of religious persecution in occupied
Ukrainian territory, violating the fundamental right to freedom
of thought, conscience, religion, and belief as protected under
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION'S PERSECUTION OF RELIGIOUS
GROUPS IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE; IMPOSITION OF
SANCTIONS.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the
Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the
Director of National Intelligence, shall jointly submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(1) a detailed description of the Government of the Russian
Federation and its state-affiliated, quasi-state, or
occupation-era activities that involve the persecution or
suppression of, or discrimination against, or otherwise
directly or indirectly involve engaging in or facilitating
serious human rights abuse against, Christians, Jews, and
Muslims (including Crimean Tatars), and other religious
minorities not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, and
their respective religious organizations in Russian-occupied
territories of Ukraine;
(2) an identification of churches, synagogues, mosques,
other religious facilities, including Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, and other minority religious institutions, that have
been destroyed, damaged, seized, repurposed, or otherwise
appropriated directly or indirectly by persons operating for or
on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation in
occupied territories of Ukraine;
(3) an assessment of--
(A) the number of Christians, Jews, Muslims
(including Crimean Tatars), and other religious
minorities who are not affiliated with the Russian
Orthodox Church, who have been subjected to
persecution, imprisonment, or forced displacement in
occupied territories of Ukraine;
(B) restrictions imposed on Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, and other religions not affiliated with the
Russian Orthodox Church's religious practices, worship
services, or religious education in occupied
territories;
(C) efforts to compel Christian organizations to
affiliate with Moscow-based religious institutions or
to suppress Christian activity not affiliated with
Moscow-based religions;
(D) efforts by the Government of the Russian
Federation, by authorities exercising de facto
governmental control in occupied territory, or by
entities or individuals otherwise affiliated with the
Russian Federation, to compel Christian organizations
in Ukraine and in occupied territories--
(i) to affiliate with Moscow-based
religious institutions; or
(ii) to suppress Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
or any other denominations not aligned with
Russian state interests; and
(E) the overall impact of the Russian Federation's
invasion of Ukraine, and its occupation of Ukrainian
territory, on religious freedom in occupied territories
of Ukraine, including Crimea and Sevastopol; and
(4) a list of individuals and entities affiliated with the
Government of the Russian Federation, or exercising de facto
authority in occupied territory, that--
(A) are responsible for persecution or suppression
of, or discrimination against, Christians, Jews, or
Muslims in Ukraine and in the occupied territories of
Ukraine; or
(B) have otherwise engaged in or attempted to
engage in any of the conduct described in this
subsection.
(b) Certification Required.--Not later than 30 days after the
submission of each report required by subsection (a), the President
shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees whether there
may be reasonable grounds to determine that any of the individuals and
entities included in the list described in subsection (a)(4) have
engaged the any of the conduct described in paragraph (2) or (3) of
subsection (a).
(c) Effect of Positive Certification.--If the President makes an
affirmative certification under subsection (b) with respect to a
foreign person, the President shall impose applicable sanctions with
respect to that person pursuant to the authorities and procedures set
forth in the applicable regulations under--
(1) part 583 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations
(relating to sanctions authorized under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.));
(2) part 589 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations
(relating to Ukraine-/Russia-related sanctions);
(3) part 587 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations
(relating to Russian harmful foreign activities sanctions); or
(4) any other regulation under chapter V of title 31, Code
of Federal Regulations, providing for the imposition of
sanctions (including the blocking of property or interests in
property) with respect to the conduct for which such person
received an affirmative certification.
(d) Effect of Subsequent Negative Determination.--To the extent
that the President determines, based on a subsequent report required by
subsection (a), that an individual or entity previously listed in such
a report no longer engages in any of the conduct described in
subsection (b) or otherwise no longer meets the requirements with
respect to the applicable sanctions imposed with respect to such person
under subsection (c), the President may waive or terminate the
application of such sanctions with respect to that person.
(e) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in an unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
(f) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign
Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives.
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