Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other government officials are reaching out to Ukraine's evangelical Christian population in hopes of gaining greater influence with evangelicals, and Republicans, in the United States, according to a report by The Washington Post.
In June, Zelensky attended the National Prayer Breakfast, a political event in Ukraine attended by evangelical Christians, who number as many as 1 million in the predominantly Orthodox Christian country, according to the report.
No Ukrainian leader had ever attended the event, modeled after the US version, even though it has run for 10 years, the newspaper said. In a sign of the political leadning, US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and former vice president Mike Pence sent video messages to the gathering.
"The government is betting that its own evangelicals can be a bridge to their counterparts in the United States, who are influential in the Republican Party and could assist in their lobbying efforts for more aid," the newspaper writes.
A Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ties with the evangelical community and the Republicans will be particularly useful if Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November.
