Russian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft for protection as belief in the supernatural surges

NewsWorldEuropeRussian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft for protection as belief in the supernatural surgesWitchcraft interest surged in the final years of the Russian Empire – when faith healer Rasputin's influence over the tsar's family caused ⁠public outrage Alessandra Prentice Thursday 16 April 2026 12:07 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2958910","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-witchcraft-medicine-putin-b2958910.html","title":"Russian soldiers in Ukraine turn to witchcraft as belief in the supernatural surges"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-6672","index":0}Natalia Malinovskaya, a self-described witch, attends an interview in Moscow (Reuters)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png"...