14 ‘Putin has cured me of my pacifism’: Ethical Issues Confronting Mennonites in Light of the Russian War against Ukraine Joshua Searle It’s sometimes joked that the shortest book in the world, if it existed, would bear the title, The Book of Mennonite War Heroes. However, in light of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the heroism of many Mennonite pastors serving on the frontline as chaplains in the Ukrainian army, this joke seems to have lost some of its comedic impact. This article arises out of a recent conversation with one such Mennonite pastor, a close friend of mine whom I will call ‘Pastor M’. When I first met Pastor M in 2020, he was leading a small Mennonite congregation in Eastern Ukraine. He is now serving as a chaplain with the Ukrainian armed forces, who are defending their country against the Russian invasion. As we spoke through the video messaging app on my phone, I could see that he was attired in full combat dress. The sight of a Mennonite pastor serving in an active warzone attired in military fatigues seemed somewhat incongruous. When I spoke to him on a video call, he did not appear to be carrying a weapon but he mentioned that, as part of his induction as an army chaplain, he had received basic combat training. Although he said that he had not actually killed anyone or even fired a shot in anger since the start of the war, he said that if he were put in a situation where he needed to take up a weapon to defend the lives of the soldiers under his care, he would not hesitate to use that weapon to take the life of a hostile Russian soldier. When I pressed him on the issue of how he reconciled this willingness to kill with his Mennonite- pacifist principles, he stated that, ‘Those beliefs are no longer tenable. Putin has cured me of my pacifism.’ This view of Pastor M is not necessarily representative of the wider Mennonite community in Ukraine. Most Mennonites seem to have retained their commitment to absolute pacifism, despite the Russian invasion. Several Mennonites in Ukraine with whom I have spoken have argued that there can be no military solution to the conflict. They maintain that the notion of ‘redemptive violence’ is a dangerous myth. 1 As someone formed within the Anabaptist- Mennonite milieu, I share this conviction regarding the ultimate futility of all armed combat and my own views lean more towards the historical pacifist position. However, my aim in this article is not to make moral judgements about the choices that people like Pastor M have made. Rather, I intend to focus on the ways in which the recent experience of war has forced Ukrainian Christians, especially Mennonites, to address questions which had long remained unanswered about what it means to follow the peaceful Way of Jesus in the midst of a cruel and barbaric war. In order to locate the discussion within an appropriate historical and theological framework, I begin with a background sketch of the history of the Mennonite movement in Ukraine, before offering some rudimentary biblical and theological reflections on the nature of war. The focus then moves to a consideration of urgent ethical questions confronting the global Anabaptist community in this new age of authoritarianism and nationalism into which the world now seems to be transitioning. As nationalist-populist movements continue to gain support throughout the world, the intensity and frequency of wars between nation states seems likely to increase. I believe that the global Anabaptist community needs to be morally, intellectually and spiritually equipped to offer a distinctive gospel-centred contribution to