The Russian Orthodox Army, ROA (, ''Russkaya pravoslavnaya armiya'') was a Russian separatist paramilitary group in Ukraine that has been fighting Ukrainian forces in the

Donbas war The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. It was founded in 2014. The ROA was later absorbed into the Oplot Fifth Separate Infantry Brigade.

Background

The Russian Orthodox Army was one of the number of pro-Russian separatist militia units in the

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

region described as "pro-

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and ...

", "extremist"

Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

. Starting with the onset of insurgency in Ukraine in early 2014, many central figures in Donetsk were referred to be directly or indirectly related to

Russian National Unity Russian National Unity (RNU; transcribed Russkoe natsionalnoe edinstvo RNE) or All-Russian civic patriotic movement "Russian National Unity" () was an unregistered neo-Nazi, irredentist group based in Russia and formerly operating in states wit ...

(RNU), most notably

Pavel Gubarev Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev (, ; born 10 February 1983) is a pro-Russian public figure, primarily known for his pro-Russian activities in Donbas in 2014. He is married to Ekaterina Gubareva. Early life Gubarev gained a degree in history from Don ...

, a prominent spokesman with held multiple titles (leader of the Donbas militia, governor of the

Donetsk People’s Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a republic of Russia, comprising parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Done ...

, its foreign affairs minister, and the founder of the

New Russia Party The New Russia Party (), or Novorossiya Party, is a political party operating in Ukraine, and in particular regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia. The organization was founded by pro-Russian separatists, under the leadership of Pavel Gubarev, o ...

), who besides stating ROA was organised by RNU under his control also declared himself leader of the RNE section in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

. Exactly when the RNE affiliates were created in Ukraine has not been possible to establish. Historian

Marlène Laruelle Marlène Laruelle (; born 21 December 1972, Maisons-Alfort) is a French historian, sociologist, and political scientist specializing on Eurasia and Europe. She is Research Professor and Director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasi ...

states that while there are suspicions of former RNU-leader Barkashov being close to commander Verin, no reliable sources in Ukraine can verify that, and ROA's own Facebook page displayed no direct connection with RNE. The ROA reportedly had 4,000 members according to Russian journalists, while eyewitnesses estimated their membership to be at 500.

Engagements

Notable engagements of the ROA include the June 2014 skirmishes in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

and

Amvrosiivka Raion Amvrosiivka Raion (; ) was a raion (district) within the eastern part of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Donetsk Obla ...

. The headquarters of the ROA is located in an occupied

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

(SBU) building in

city. Members had no special training apart from the usual conscription service in the army and swore allegiance to

Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...

("Strelkov"), insurgent and Minister of Defence of the self-declared

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

, as of January, 2017.

Religious persecution

Along with other separatist groups in the region, the ROA has been accused of "kidnapp ng beat ng and threaten ng

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church… as well as participat ngin

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

acts." The organisation was also involved in the 2014 massacre of Protestants in Sloviansk, which was apparently also motivated by religious hatred of Protestants, whom the members themselves associate with ‘US agents’. Church officials believe that it was an act of religious persecution. In late November 2014, the group gained attention after abducting prominent

Ukrainian Greek Catholic The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal '' sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. ...

priest, Sergeii Kulbaka, and Roman Catholic priest, Father Pawel Witek. According to the

Defence Ministry A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

of Ukraine, the ROA was also in conflict with another pro-Russian militia, the Vostok Battalion, which accused the ROA of looting and avoiding combat.

Aftermath

In September 2014, the ROA changed its format and joined the new Oplot Fifth Separate Infantry Brigade.

Notes

References

{{War in Donbas Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia Military of the Donetsk People's Republic Separatist forces of the war in Donbas Military units and formations established in 2014 Organizations designated as terrorist by Ukraine Pro-Russian militant groups Paramilitary organizations based in Ukraine Anti-Catholic organizations