‘War continues to intensify’ warn Ukrainian church leaders on invasion anniversary

Ukrainian religious leaders came together with secular authorities at St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv to pray for a just and lasting peace.

The apostolic nuncio to Ukraine said that, four years after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, “The intensity of this war continues to grow.”

Speaking to Vatican News to mark the anniversary of the invasion, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas said the number of Russian troops on Ukrainian territory has increased approximately fourfold since the start of the war, along with the number of missile and drone attacks.

Reports from the United Nations and other organisations indicate that the number of civilian deaths is also increasing.

“At the beginning of the war, most civilians who were killed or injured were in occupied territories or near the front line,” said Archbishop Kulbakos. “Now, the number of civilians killed or injured far from the front is rising and shelling also takes place far from the front line.”

He said medical and humanitarian workers report that delivering water, food, medicine and other basic necessities has become extremely difficult, and that near the front line “everyone without exception now becomes a target: civilians, military personnel, humanitarian workers, doctors, priests”.

The Ukrainian Catholic bishops of the United States warned in a joint statement on Tuesday that “Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine’s social and spiritual infrastructure”, with “at least 2,881 attacks on healthcare … affecting medical personnel, hospitals and clinics, ambulances and medical warehouses across the country”.

They reported that “4,048 educational institutions have been damaged and 408 destroyed, affecting millions of children. Tens of thousands of children have been abducted and deported to Russia. Civilian prisoners, including clergy, are mercilessly tortured.”

They continued: “More than 600 churches and places of worship, representing various denominations, have been damaged or levelled. Everywhere Russian occupation has taken hold, the Ukrainian Catholic Church has been banned and all religious confessions except the Moscow Patriarchate are persecuted.”

In the coldest winter in over a decade, Russia has attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions without heating and electricity in freezing temperatures. The Ukrainian bishops of the US said: “The aggressor seeks to use Mother Nature as an accomplice in state-sponsored terrorism.

“This winter, the harshest in years, has been deliberately exploited to break the spirit of a nation – men and women, military and civilians, grandparents, parents and children – standing for freedom, justice, democracy, and God-given human dignity.

“Despite countless deaths and millions of casualties, the people of God resist, trust and pray. They stand and fight evil and tyranny to live and witness to the truth.”

Ukrainian religious leaders came together with secular authorities at St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv to pray for a just and lasting peace on Tuesday.

The service was attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Council António Costa, president of Finland Alexander Stubb and the prime ministers of Baltic and Scandinavian countries.

Bishop Yosyf Milyan, an auxiliary of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Kyiv, prayed: “Lord, look upon us even now in the time of the severe trial of war. You see the pain of mothers, You hear the prayer of soldiers, You know the fatigue of the people.

“Do not turn your face away from us. Grant us a victory that will be the triumph of truth, not revenge; a strength that will be service, not pride; a peace that will be just and lasting.

“Strengthen those who will defend our land, support those who heal, teach, sow and pray. Grant us endurance, so that we do not weaken in goodness, do not despair in darkness, do not lose our dignity in suffering. Lord, bless the future of Ukraine.

“Teach us unity, for in unity is our strength, in mutual respect is our maturity, in joint prayer is our healing. Heal the wounds of division, teach us to see each other as brothers, help build a state where justice reigns, where human dignity is respected, where truth is higher than fear.”

‘Challenges continue’ for Ukrainian refugees in London after four years of war

Leo makes ‘urgent’ plea for peace in Ukraine four years after invasion

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: