Russia is waging a brutal campaign against Christianity, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that Moscow has destroyed churches and targeted clergy in an assault he described as both physical and spiritual.

In an interview on "The Rosenberg Report," filmed inside the presidential compound in Kyiv and aired on the TBN network, Zelenskyy dismissed allegations from some Western commentators that Ukraine persecutes Christians. He said such claims distort the truth and ignore the scale of Russia's destruction.

"Those claims ... are false and manipulative," Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine maintains stronger religious liberties than any other former Soviet republic, especially Russia, Zelenskyy said, adding that more than 70% of Ukrainians are Christians and the country is home to over 1 million Protestants.

The president said Moscow's attacks have not spared sacred sites. Kyiv's main cathedral was destroyed, and a missile strike damaged Odesa's central cathedral.

And scores of pastors, priests, and religious figures, he said, have been murdered, kidnapped, or disappeared.

Russian forces have bombed and destroyed over 600 churches — Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and beyond — longstanding symbols of Ukraine's spiritual heritage, he said.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine has sought to protect religious freedom even amid the war. He said the government has rescued prisoners of faith — including Orthodox, Catholic, and Baptist believers — sometimes trading them for captured soldiers in prisoner exchanges.

Responding to accusations that Ukraine prosecutes clergy, Zelenskyy said the only cases involve priests who collaborate with Russia.

"Our law simply states that no religious organization can maintain legal ties with an aggressor state ... That is not persecution. It is national security," he said.

He also highlighted Ukraine's efforts to strengthen spiritual unity, pointing to the country's largest-ever prayer breakfast as an example of resilience. Faith, he said, is more than symbolic; it provides a practical and sustaining moral resource in the face of overwhelming destruction.

Zelenskyy underscored the human toll of the conflict, calling it the deadliest in Europe since World War II. He said Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022, has killed or severely wounded more than 400,000 Ukrainians, many of them civilians. He accused Moscow of deliberately targeting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, not just military positions.

Despite the devastation, Zelenskyy expressed hope for peace.

He singled out President Donald Trump as uniquely capable of exerting pressure on Russia. Zelenskyy contrasted Trump's style with that of other Western leaders, saying only inimitable strength will force Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

"Russia doesn't respect the United States, and it is not news; but they are afraid, very afraid, very much," he said. "They respect power, what [the] United States has."

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