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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ruthenians of Ukraine

The Ruthenians of Ukraine, numbering approximately 332,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Eastern Slavic ethnic group indigenous to historical Kievan Rus' state that encompasses parts of modern Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Rusyn is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Hutsul

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Ukraine
People Cluster: Slav, Eastern
Primary Language(s): Rusyn (rue)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 332,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046961
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Pray for the Ruthenians of Ukraine

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

81%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Rusyn
Language Family: Indo-European

75%
%
Rusyn Speakers

Media Resources in Rusyn:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Rusyn:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Rusyn bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Ruthenians are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Ruthenians:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Ruthenians of Ukraine

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
readNumbers 6:26

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with peace in their lives, knowing that God is with them.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Ruthene (Rusyn) Across Countries (ROP3 - 108457) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
RutheniansPG046695RutheniansPoland10,500No Longer UnreachedRusynRoman Catholicism
RutheniansPG046961RutheniansUkraine332,000Engaged yet UnreachedRusynRoman Catholicism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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