The truth without which it is impossible to stop the war is that Ukraine is the victim, and Russia is the criminal
Justice lies in the fact that the formula for peace must stop the criminal and protect the victim. Without observing these basic principles, it is impossible to find a just peace. This was said by the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in his traditional address on the 162nd week of the great war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
The Primate noted that this was another week of pain, blood, destruction, human losses, but also great courage, heroism of the Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian people.
As the Head of the Church noted, while peace negotiations are underway and cessations of attacks are announced, in particular on the energy infrastructure of our cities and villages, the reality is the opposite – the Russian occupier, proclaiming one thing, does another. And again our peaceful cities and villages are burning.
Despite everything, the Lord gave us a few rays of light.
“A large exchange of prisoners of war took place. Almost 200 Ukrainian servicemen who defended Ukraine on various fronts were released from Russian captivity. We thank God for every life saved. We embrace our heroes, their relatives, who greeted their loved ones with tears of joy,” said the spiritual leader.
According to the Head of the Church, we also had two important signs of solidarity with our Church and the Ukrainian people from the Catholics of the United States and France. In particular, we received worthy guests from the United States, who conveyed to us greetings from the Americans who support, love and pray for us. We were also visited by a delegation from the organization “L’Oeuvre d’Orient” from France, which today helps a lot, especially in the humanitarian and educational spheres, so that we can give an adequate response to the challenges of war in these difficult dimensions of our lives.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that last week the attention of the whole world was riveted to the negotiations at the highest level between the USA, Ukraine and the Russian Federation: “Truth and justice in the search for peace are not abstract concepts. They, like two wings, help to find balance in order to continue walking this path of building peace. The truth, without which reconciliation or stopping the war is impossible, is that Ukraine is the victim of this aggression, and the Russian occupier is the criminal, and that it is impossible to put and protect their interests on the same level.”
The Head of the Church also noted as an important event the next Forum of Social Service of the UGCC, which was held in the Patriarchal House in Kyiv. The event brought together everyone who directly serves the victims of the war, saves them from the consequences of the humanitarian crisis.
“The UN Humanitarian Headquarters claims that today in Ukraine every third Ukrainian needs emergency humanitarian assistance. We hope that we will be able to serve such people. However, this will not be enough. We must move from emergency humanitarian aid to social protection of those who have suffered from the war,” says His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Press Service of the Secretariat of the Synod
Bishops of the UGCC
