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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

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRom 6:23

Pray that those who haven't heard yet will hear and believe that the wages of their sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
readPsalm 75:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will give thanks to the Lord for His wondrous works and declare His goodness to all people.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
RutheniansPG046961RutheniansUkraine332,000Engaged yet UnreachedRusynRoman Catholicism
RutheniansPG046695RutheniansPoland10,500No Longer 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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