The Russian Orthodox Church has handed down yet another initiative to its dioceses. Called the “Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission: Together We Help People in Donbas,” what looks at first to be a program to encourage devout Russians to support people living in occupied areas should be treated with suspicion given the country's looming manpower issues.
The complicity of the church in the war in Ukraine, which Patriarch Kirill calls a “holy war,” is well known. But this time, it has decided to go a step further in its service to the fatherland. Or maybe it decided nothing at all: the party simply commanded that something must be done and Comrade Kirill replied, “Yes, sir!”
Dioceses have started circulating adverts to recruit volunteers, supposedly to help restore life in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow. Not that there is anything left to restore after the Russian army passed through; nothing remains except scorched earth and buildings destroyed to their foundations. But the question remains of what these volunteers will actually be doing once they get to the Donbas.
The roles outlined look very much like online job ads on Avito that turn out to be contracts with the Ministry of Defence. Volunteers are not required to have special skills or experience. They just need to be 18 or older and willing to take part in offering social assistance to people living alone, restoring damaged private homes and helping in hospitals — including military ones.
