The Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Week 236 of the War: National Unity Is a Paramount Condition for Victory and the Preservation of Ukrainian Statehood
And in the name of victory over evil, in the name of defending our Motherland, we must all unite. This was stated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in his traditional wartime address during the 236th week of the horrible, violent war that Russia is waging against Ukraine.
The Primate noted that with the advancement of state-of-the-art weaponry, those who kill in Ukraine do so in real time: “By deploying drones equipped with modern video cameras, the killers see exactly whom they are killing; therefore, this cannot be described as a mistake, but rather as the deliberate and conscious killing of civilians.” In particular, this attack on Kyiv, which involved dozens of high-tech missiles—designed to strike targets on the open sea or elsewhere—was deliberately directed at residential neighborhoods in Kyiv.
The spiritual leader emphasized that we indeed witness daily crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law. Hence, the world has no right to grow accustomed to this, nor does it have the right to remain silent about it.
At the same time, this week also brought us one joyful and heartwarming event—103 Ukrainian defenders were released from Russian captivity. Among them was one serviceman who had been held captive since 2017. After more than nine years of torture, abuse, and imprisonment, he survived and returned to his Motherland.
Ukraine is nearing Independence Day, praying, reflecting, and working toward national unity: “We see that the very concept of national unity is not merely beautiful wishes for yet another national holiday. National unity is a paramount condition for victory and the preservation of Ukrainian statehood today.”
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Address by the Head of the UGCC for the 236th Week of the Full-Scale War, August 23, 2026
“For us, Christians, Independence Day is more than just a political event. It is also a day of prayer and gratitude to God for the gift of freedom and the gift of being able to be ourselves. That is why we celebrate this day in prayer, united under the Ukrainian Council of Churches,” said the Head of the Church.
