Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 191st Week of the Full-Scale War, October 12, 2025
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
We continue to count the days and nights, weeks, and months of this wicked war. Today marks the 191st week since Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion of peaceful Ukraine.
Looking back on this week, which we have survived with God’s help, we again see tears, blood, and death. We see Ukrainian cities and villages ablaze. But we also witness heroism, sacrifice, and the power of God’s Spirit, manifested through the courage, hearts, and devotion of people who believe in God.
This week, on the night of October 10, Russia launched one of its most massive strikes, particularly on Kyiv. Russia is systematically beginning to destroy our energy infrastructure. This Thursday, our capital endured a partial blackout. Large cities were left without electricity and water supply. This means that in such cities, the lives of civilians are truly turning into a living hell. More people have been killed—children among them. In Kyiv alone, there are about 20 victims. This is just one day, October 10.
Today, we want the world to hear that while the leaders of countries, even Russia, are talking about peace negotiations, an unprecedented escalation of war is unfolding. The number of Russian attacks has doubled every night. Various weapons, aimed primarily at killing peaceful civilians, bring new victims to Ukraine every night.
We can’t help but remember the funeral of a 15-year-old girl from the village of Lapaivka near Lviv, who died last Sunday. Her father came from the war zone to peaceful Lviv to bury his dead child. This has become an icon of the Ukrainian people’s modern struggle for their right to live.
But today we are grateful to God and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for being alive. We pray especially for our energy workers, who demonstrate the heroism of the Christian faith by tirelessly restoring the energy network that has been destroyed and then rebuilt with their own hands. They know that tomorrow Russia will strike again, that the electrical cables connected today will be damaged again tomorrow. But they give people light, warmth, and the opportunity to live time and again.
We want the whole world to see this heroism, this resilience, this invincibility today and to take the right side of history, to support the heroic Ukrainian people in their struggle against the obvious embodiment of evil.
Today, we say once again: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
This week, a very important event took place in the life of the European Catholic Church. In the shrine of Mary, near the site of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, the annual general assembly of the presidents of the European Episcopal Conferences convened. The leaders of the Catholic episcopates from all European countries gathered to reflect on the challenges facing believers in Europe today and to offer words of hope to the Christian European continent.
And at this year’s assembly, Ukraine was the central concern. Today, all of Europe supports Ukraine. Perhaps, compared to previous general assemblies on Ukraine, today’s session was the most vocal in history. Today, European bishops realize that all of Europe faces dangerous realities. The bishops discussed how Europe is beginning to lose its historical memory.
Everyone was moved by the report of Archbishop Crociata, head of COMECE, the Catholic Church’s representative body to the European Union. His Excellency stated that the post-war generation, which remembered the horrors of World War II, is passing away. The slogan for European unity and cooperation among the peoples of Europe was “never again.” All politicians, public figures, and church leaders made every effort to ensure that the horrors of war would never be repeated. Unfortunately, however, this memory, this fear, and even this principle are beginning to wane.
Today, in the political circles of European countries, the slogan “we can do it again” is becoming increasingly popular. Today, the word “war” is more often associated with computer games or political battles. And sympathy for aggressive language, sympathy for extreme positions, sympathy for polarization and hatred, unfortunately, are gaining political dividends. Thus, Christians in Europe today must be especially sensitive. The war in Ukraine today is becoming a civilizational challenge for the whole of Europe.
Today, we feel how the entire Catholic Church, especially on the European continent, supports Ukraine. Today, European Catholic bishops understand that the fate of Europe is being decided right here. The Ukrainian people are defending European civilization with their own lives.
We would like to once again thank our brothers in the episcopate from Europe and around the world for their support. We had the opportunity to testify to how our Church and our people live and struggle today. We have spoken about the difficulties that await us this winter, which may be one of the most arduous periods in our recent history. However, we are returning home with the hope that we are not alone, that Ukraine’s voice is not only being heard, but that we are now receiving humanitarian and spiritual support, particularly in the form of prayer.
Pope Leo called for daily prayers for peace in October, particularly in Ukraine. We are glad that the war in Gaza may be nearing its end. We are glad that solutions are being found to end various local conflicts. We hope that with God’s help and the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, revealed in Fatima, we will be able to stop the murderous hand of the Russian aggressor.
We pray: God, bless us! God, hear us! God, come and bless Ukraine, the children of Ukraine, our government, our army, our peaceful inhabitants, our cities and villages with Your righteous, heavenly peace.
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!
