Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 196th Week of the Full-Scale War, November 16, 2025
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
We continue to count the days and nights, the weeks of a bloody war that is ravaging the peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine; a war that claims new victims every day and every week. As Patriarch Josyf Slipyj said, today Ukraine is bleeding — a sea of tears and rivers of blood are running through Ukraine.
This 196th week of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into our peaceful land has been no exception. On the one hand, this week will go down in history as a week of heroic resistance, of heroic endeavors by Ukrainian troops who thwarted attempts by Russian occupiers to advance deeper into Ukrainian territory. In particular, heavy fighting is taking place around the city of Pokrovsk, where the enemy is concentrating its main strike and its main military personnel in order to attack Ukraine. Our defenders also stopped attempts by Russian troops to advance in the south of our homeland near Zaporizhzhia.
This week, on the night of November 14, the enemy launched another massive combined attack on our capital, the city of Kyiv. At least four people were killed and dozens were wounded. But this time, the time of struggle is also a manifestation of God’s great power, which is revealed in the suffering of the Ukrainian people and speaks to the whole world.
And yet another pain this week has burst into the hearts and minds of Ukrainians. Our law enforcement agencies have exposed a criminal scheme, a corruption scheme that was destroying Ukraine’s energy systems. We share the pain of our society, the pain of our people, and, fulfilling the prophetic role of the Church, we consistently denounce and condemn the phenomenon we call corruption. Because in wartime, this is a real act of sabotage against Ukraine, especially in the energy sector, when millions of Ukrainians are suffering from electricity and heat shortages.
We hope that this anti-corruption purge is still being carried out by our state bodies, which are fighting against this evil. We believe that the Ukrainian state and our government will persistently fight and combat this evil. And we, as a society, as our church communities and public organizations, are creating an essential public opinion that has declared zero tolerance for any manifestations of this evil—moral, social, economic—in our society. Today, we say that corruption is not only a moral evil, but also a crime against Ukraine.
We urge all those who are in charge at the state level in Ukraine to do everything in their power to expose all corrupt officials and, on the other hand, to prevent this phenomenon from further destroying our state and undermining the trust of our international partners in Ukraine. The Church will always be an ally of all those who are ready to fight the evil of corruption in Ukraine.
Despite our inner pain and difficulties, despite the new victims of this war, no one can destroy Ukraine’s will for freedom, truth, dignity, and independence, which is a prerequisite for the development of every person and every nation.
We want Ukraine’s voice to be heard once again throughout the world, saying: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
Today, Sunday, November 16, the Ukrainian Church celebrates International Day of the Poor. Today, we once again focus our attention on those who are most in need, especially during times of war.
According to the analysis of the relevant UN bodies, two-thirds of Ukrainians need immediate humanitarian assistance. War always brings with it devastation, destruction, and humanitarian crisis. The severity of this crisis is exacerbated, particularly as we approach the fall and winter seasons.
Therefore, we are all called today to mobilize all our efforts to serve those whom we call the poor, those who day and night cry out to God for help, because they do not have the strength and means to provide themselves with everything necessary for life. Everyone who serves the poor, on the one hand, becomes God’s hands, bringing God’s love and God’s help to everyone in need. On the other hand, by serving the poor—according to St. John Chrysostom—we serve Christ himself, who suffers, who is naked and hungry, and in need, whom we see in every poor and marginalized person.
This week, we solemnly presented in Kyiv the first pastoral letter of Pope Leo XIV, entitled “Dilexi Te.” This letter is specifically about the Church’s calling to serve the poor.
The Pope tells us that serving the poor is not just some kind of social mission of the Church. Serving the poor means encountering the living Christ. It is a deeply religious act through which the Church today reaches out to everyone in need. The Pope speaks of a revolution of tenderness. He says that in this service, everyone can experience the tenderness of God’s love, that experience of God’s love that we all so desperately need in the midst of this cruel war.
Therefore, it is not for nothing that in our pastoral plan of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, serving the needy, the poor, and the most vulnerable is one of our pastoral priorities. The Church strives to fulfill its mission of serving those in need, especially in these difficult circumstances.
Today, we appeal to the international community to bring the pain of Ukraine to the world so that all people of good will can feel it. If you want to help those most in need, turn your eyes today to the cities and villages of Ukraine that suffer every night, every day, from Russian armed attacks.
We are convinced today that, as in previous years of full-scale invasion, we have managed to do everything possible to prevent the humanitarian crisis from escalating into a catastrophe, as was the case this winter. In the coming months, we will do everything we can to ensure that no one in Ukraine dies of hunger, cold, or other humanitarian causes. And then we will feel that the living Christ, with his power, grace, and even his suffering in the face of the poor, is among us, and his power will be the guarantor of our resilience, the cry of the Ukrainian people for a just peace in Ukraine.
God, bless Ukraine! God, bless our men and women on the front lines! God, hear the cries of the Ukrainian people, as You once heard the cries of Your people in Egyptian bondage and sent Your messengers to lead them from slavery to freedom, from death to life! Come quickly with your saving right hand today to our people in Ukraine and bless our land 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.
