Head of the UGCC in Berlin: The War Against Ukraine is a War Against Germany, All of Europe, and the Entire Democratic Order
The seizure of Ukraine is just an appetizer. The Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia have no illusions that they will be the next course. No one should have any illusions about Russia. This was stated by the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in Berlin during the traditional St. Michael’s Reception.
“The St. Michael’s Reception” gathers around 500 guests annually in Berlin, including media representatives, intellectuals, and politicians.
The reception was also attended by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Svenja Schulze, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Nancy Feather, Federal Minister of the Interior and Community.
The participation of the Head of the UGCC in the “St. Michael’s Reception” as an honored guest was held at the invitation of Bishoop Georg Bätzing, Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, and Prelate Dr. Karl Justen.
The Primate noted that Ukraine is approaching the thousandth day of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine: “A thousand days of air raid sirens across the country. A thousand days of bloody slaughter, terror and, death. Ten years have passed since the first act of aggression—the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in Donbas.”
This war, he said, has evolved into a marathon in which Ukrainians must constantly run at sprint speed in order not to be defeated in a deadly race. “I ask you to run with us—quickly, decisively and fearlessly,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav called on the German politicians and clergy.
The Head of the Church noted that he did not come to Berlin to complain and lament. “My wish is to bring hope, to encourage and to share with you the source of our strength and resilience. We have a task that we must accomplish together, because the genocides of Hitler and Stalin cannot be repeated,” he said.
According to him, it is beyond any doubt that Russia has genocidal intentions: “Putin has expressed them unequivocally and will stop at nothing until he is stopped. Putin sent a killer to Germany. For years, he denied it, until last month he hailed the convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov as a hero—a loyal FSB agent and assassin, an old colleague from the St. Petersburg shooting range, who carried out a mission in your country, initiated by the Russian president.”
In his speech, the Head of the Church argued that “the pandemic of war has engulfed the entire Russian society. The collective Putin is millions of accomplices. The ideology of evil does not hide its goal: the destruction of Ukrainians and the so-called final solution to the Ukrainian question. It demands this publicly.”
“The massacres and burials in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka and Izium, the bombing of a maternity hospital and a drama theater in Mariupol, the July missile attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, 13 million people forced to leave their homes (8 million refugees and 5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs)) are all reminders of the bitter fruits of Putin’s neo-imperialist plan,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The spiritual leader emphasizes that Putin has other goals besides Ukraine: “Not the least of Putin’s goals is to destabilize Germany and the whole of Europe by any means possible, including demographic and ethnic cleansing. His invasion of Ukraine has forced 8 million refugees to flee to the European Union. His intention is to further dehumanize our country through a broader, in fact total, occupation that will lead to at least 10 million more refugees fleeing to the EU. One can only imagine the impact this will have on Germany. Ukrainians are paying a heavy price to prevent this from happening.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav urges that neither the world’s democracies nor the Church should support a world that tolerates aggression as a successful method of appropriating the sovereign territory of another country. “This would be a fatal blow to global security, as it would encourage all other potential aggressors,” he said.
Commenting on the peace treaty, the Head of the Church noted that Ukraine needs and deeply longs for a true, just, sustainable peace, not a fleeting, illusory truce. “Let’s ask ourselves: is there at least one security agreement between Ukraine and Russia that the latter has not violated? In fact, not a single one,” the Primate added.
The Head of the Church called for helping people in Germany and other Western countries to break through stereotypes and overcome fears, illusions and disappointments: “I ask you to explain to them that this is not just a Ukrainian war; it is a war upon which the future of democracy in Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world depends. The war against Ukraine is a war against Germany, the whole of Europe and the entire democratic order. Tragically, it is also your war. Ukraine needs your support not only for its own benefit, but also for yours.”
The UGCC Department for Information
photo by the press office of the Federal Chancellor of Germany
