Address by the Head of the UGCC for the 223rd Week of the Full-Scale War, May 24, 2026
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 223rd week since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of peaceful Ukrainian territory.
With the arrival of warmer weather, combat operations are intensifying along nearly the entire front line. As we follow the news each day, we see that Russian troops carry out nearly 200 attacks across various sectors of the front daily. Yet despite such fierce fighting, they are suffering enormous losses. Every day, the Russian side loses around a thousand soldiers. Nevertheless, they continue attempting new strikes against Ukraine, particularly against the civilian population.
This week, Ukraine’s heart ached especially for the city of Pryluky in the southern part of the Chernihiv region. The Russians struck the city’s residential center with a ballistic missile, targeting an area where civilians live. They hit a kindergarten, a school, and several restaurants. Two people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, and dozens were wounded.
At the same time, our homeland and our people continue to amaze the world with their resilience and courage. Therefore, we are grateful to the Lord God and the Armed Forces of Ukraine that we have survived this week as well.
This week, the Ukrainian community in Spain was especially moved by an encounter with the Mother Church. We were able to make a historic visit, particularly to the northern and central provinces of this friendly country, as well as to neighboring Andorra. There were wonderful meetings with monastics, bishops, priests, and lay faithful. And at all of these meetings, we heard words of solidarity with Ukraine and support for our people.
We saw how Ukrainians currently living in Spain are drawn to their Church and are in need of proper pastoral care. On the one hand, they are integrating wonderfully into society: they have learned Spanish, Catalan, and other languages spoken in Spain. Yet they have preserved their liturgical and spiritual traditions and continue to seek this living connection with the Mother Church.
It was deeply moving to see our people asking for a priest. We came precisely to help ensure the future of the Ukrainians of our Church in Spain.
This week concluded with an extraordinary pilgrimage at the cathedral—the main church of the Spanish capital, Madrid—where priests and faithful from all over Spain gathered together. We have 36 priests serving in 78 parishes and mission stations, and this became a true celebration of unity.
In this way, we also wished to express our gratitude for the decade of ministry of the separate ordinariate for Eastern Catholics living in Spain. Their ordinary, their bishop, is the Archbishop of Madrid, with whom we had a unique and special meeting.
The Mother Church, which itself is bleeding, cares for her children throughout the world, particularly in Spain. Today we declare once again to all: Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. Ukraine prays!
This week, in accordance with the Eastern Paschal cycle, we in Ukraine celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. This marks the beginning of the decade of mission in our Church. Those 10 days of waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit in our Church are a special time of daily prayer and support for our priests, monks, and nuns who carry out the missionary work of our Church—that is, who preach and proclaim the Gospel of Christ, especially to those who do not yet know Him.
We see how today, amid the war, various people in Ukraine are seeking the voice of Christ’s Gospel. This time of immense suffering in Ukraine is nonetheless a time of turning to God, of seeking God’s Word and His power, and thus the living voice of the Church, which proclaims the Gospel and administers the Holy Sacraments.
This Sunday, a special collection for the mission fund is being held in all our parishes to support precisely those priests and those newly established parishes which today, particularly in Central, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine, are truly becoming extraordinary logistical hubs serving all those people seeking salvation. All our parishes have also become centers of social service.
Therefore, I urge everyone to pray daily for the missionary work of our Church in Ukraine and in the diaspora. Thus, support with your contribution our Church’s ability to be where its voice and ministry are most needed today.
This Sunday is a special moment. Yesterday we celebrated Ukrainian Heroes’ Day. On May 23, for 85 years now, we have commemorated all those who gave their lives for the freedom and dignity of their people. We remember all participants in our people’s national liberation struggle. In particular, during these days, Ukraine began the process of repatriating the remains of its heroes from abroad.
We are grateful to God for inspiring our hearts with this longing for freedom, but also with a longing for truth and justice. Yet on this Sunday in May, our prayer is for peace.
We ask: Lord, stop the war! Send the grace of Your Holy Spirit! Renew the face of the Ukrainian land and bless our land with Your just 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.
