The Head of the UGCC prays and asks to release from captivity National Guardsmen who guarded the Chornobyl nuclear power plant
For over a year, the National Guard, which defended the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, has been in Russian captivity. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the fate of the defenders remains unknown. Thus, the Head of the UGCC asks the faithful to pray for their liberation.
At the end of March 2022, the invaders left the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and took 167 captured Ukrainian soldiers who guarded it with them. A year has passed since then — more than 9,408 hours of hell, severe abuse, and exhaustion in the dungeons of Russian torture chambers. It has been more than a year of uncertainty for their families.
One of the slogans of the Chornobyl tragedy is ‘Never Again!’. The National Guardsmen from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant prevented the 1986 tragedy from happening again with their own lives, health, and freedom. The Head of the UGCC calls on everyone to remember them and pray for the liberation of prisoners of war.
It is worth noting that the Church is actively working to ensure the safe return of Ukrainian prisoners of war to their homeland.
In particular, the Patriarch regularly submits lists of prisoners of war to the Pope. According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Pope Francis is involved in all possible channels to liberate Ukrainian prisoners.
At the end of June last year, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the relatives of the captured National Guardsmen and assured them that apart from praying, the Church is constantly looking for ways to find everyone and bring them home.
The UGCC Department for Information