Address by the Head of the UGCC for the 224th Week of the Full-Scale War, May 31, 2026
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 224th week of this great sacrilegious war.
This week, Russia continued to kill. Very painful news continues to come from the front lines, where fierce battles are raging. Yet our Ukrainian military is liberating territory in the south of our homeland, along the border between the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Our servicemen and women, our young men and women, are accomplishing what often seems nearly impossible. Our air defense forces and pilots shoot down dozens, even hundreds, of Russian missiles and drones every night.
What was especially painful this week, however, was Russia’s continued unwillingness either to end the war or to engage in serious international diplomatic negotiations to stop this madness. After Ukraine endured one of the most massive attacks since the beginning of the war last Sunday night—particularly on the city of Kyiv, and especially on the long-suffering Lukyanivka district, where nearly ten people were killed and dozens more were wounded—Russia spent the entire week resorting to military and even nuclear blackmail.
The announcement that these strikes, particularly those against Kyiv, would continue and intensify outraged the international community. Its cynicism astonished even diplomats in capitals around the world who have grown accustomed to being surprised by very little.
This week, we are especially grateful to Pope Leo XIV—not only for his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, but also for his firm condemnation of the missile strikes on Kyiv. His words that war solves nothing became a ray of hope for us this week—a reminder that light will ultimately triumph over darkness.
We thank all those who stood with Ukraine, especially this week. We embrace all those who suffered from Russian airstrikes. In particular, we express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Romania. A Russian drone even crossed into a Romanian border city and struck a high-rise residential building. People were injured.
We also wish to thank all those who support our Church not only with words, but through their daily actions. This week, our Permanent Synod of Bishops held its regular session in Madrid, Spain, for the first time in history. We had the opportunity to meet with leaders of the Catholic Church in Spain, government officials, Ukrainian diplomats, and, in particular, members of our community.
Our people felt that their Mother Church, though herself bleeding in Ukraine, continues to care for her children throughout the world, especially in Spain. This is the motto of our Patriarchal Council: “Your Church is always and everywhere with you.” Our youth, our children, and our young families in Spain experienced this in a special way.
We wish to thank all the donors, especially those from the organization Aid to the Church in Need, who are helping Ukraine in Spain and assisting us in responding to the humanitarian challenges caused by the war.
We believe that the war will end and that the aggressor will be defeated, because death never has the final word in human history. We thank the Lord God and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for keeping us alive, and once again we declare to the whole world: Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. Ukraine prays!
Today, in accordance with the liturgical rhythm of the Eastern Pascha, Ukraine, together with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, celebrates the Feast of Pentecost—the feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Church.
On the eve of Pentecost, yesterday, as our tradition dictates, we commemorated all Christians who have reposed since time immemorial—people of every nation, every walk of life, and every generation. Yesterday, we also commemorated all those who gave their lives for the Motherland, the victims of this war, and all those who have died because of it.
But on this Pentecost Sunday, we feel that the Source of Life has come among us. Today, especially in the supplicatory prayers offered on this feast, we praise the Holy Spirit as the treasury of all the blessings a person needs. We praise Him as the Giver of Life.
To remain human amid the inhuman circumstances of war is possible only through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. The resilience of Ukrainians, which amazes the whole world today, comes from the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christian faith, hope, and love.
As we invoke today the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Giver of Life, we ask Him: Come, Holy Spirit, and revive all that has grown weak. Comfort all who grieve, for You are our Comforter. Heal all that has been wounded and traumatized by this war, for You are the Healer of our souls and bodies. Holy Spirit, come, for You are the Spirit of Peace; stop this sacrilegious war in Ukraine. Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of our long-suffering Ukrainian land!
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, through His grace and love for mankind, always, now and forever, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
