Address by the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for the 222nd Week of the Full-Scale War, May 17, 2026
Christ is risen!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 222nd week of the brutal, bloody, and sacrilegious war that the Russian aggressor continues to wage against our peaceful land. The more we speak about ending the war and achieving peace, the more aggressive its actions become. This week has been one of the deadliest.
On May 13 and throughout the night into May 14, for nearly 24 hours, the Russian aggressor carried out one of the most massive aerial attacks on our cities and villages since the beginning of the war. More than 1,500 drones and nearly 60 missiles were launched. Every region of Ukraine came under attack.
Every inch of Ukrainian soil was literally ablaze. The occupiers inflicted particular cruelty upon our long-suffering, golden-domed Kyiv. It was especially painful to see that the civilian population was the target of this attack.
On the Left Bank of Kyiv, in one of the most densely populated districts, a missile struck a high-rise residential building. When rescue operations were completed, it became clear that the missile had exploded directly inside the building, and fragments were found as far down as the basement.
As of today, 24 people are confirmed dead, including three children. Nearly fifty people were injured. And this happened in a single place, in a single moment.
Overall, during this massive strike on Ukraine, approximately 95% of the attacks targeted residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
As we endure this tragedy, our people view it through the eyes of the Christian faith. On May 13, the entire Catholic world celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. On this day, we also commemorate another anniversary of the assassination attempt on Saint Pope John Paul II.
And it was precisely on this Fatima day that the red Russian “dragon” once again raged, seeking through the sinister plot of the criminal regime to offer countless new human sacrifices upon this demonic altar. On that day alone, about 40 people were killed in various regions of our country.
We express our deepest condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones, and we pray for the repose of the souls of the innocent victims. The funerals of those killed in this attack will take place in the coming days. All of Ukraine will mourn.
At the same time, a ray of hope emerged at the end of the week—more than 200 of our defenders were released from Russian captivity.
The Ukrainian authorities tell us that this is only the beginning of a major prisoner exchange involving approximately one thousand people. It is significant that those who had been held in captivity the longest—nearly four years—have finally returned home, especially the defenders of Mariupol. We rejoice together with the families reunited with their sons, children, and husbands, alive after their captivity in Russia.
We want to stand beside our Heroes. And once again, from a wounded, suffering, yet unbreakable Ukraine, we declare to the whole world: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
This week, the city of Truskavets hosted the latest session of the Synod of Bishops, which brings together our bishops serving throughout Ukraine. In preparation for this Synod, whose main topic was the social welfare of the clergy, we commissioned an independent study conducted by a professional firm to examine the social and financial situation of our clergy. The results startled everyone.
The majority of the clergy lives below the average standard of living. Thirty-eight percent of our priests cannot afford to buy clothes and shoes. This means that one-third live below the poverty line. And 3% of priests cannot afford to buy food.
Given that most of our clergy are married, this means that this severe financial and social hardship is shared not only by priests, monks, and nuns, but also by priests’ wives and children. We were struck by the fact that 92% of all respondents said they are happy in their priestly ministry. And despite truly dire, at times unbearable circumstances, they are happy to serve God and our people.
Therefore, today I wish to speak on behalf of our Synod and thank our priests, their families, and the monastic community for their truly self-sacrificing dedication, for sharing in the hardships our people are enduring. I also want to thank all our faithful, our parishioners, and the members of our parish councils, who share the last crumb of their bread with their priests and support them so that they may serve our Church and our suffering people.
We are proud of such clergy and thank the Lord God for giving our people so many good shepherds in this time of war, ready to lay down their lives for their flock.
Yesterday, we experienced a special spiritual event in the city of Jarosław in Poland. This was a special occasion not only for our Przemyśl-Warsaw Metropolia, but for our entire Church.
A solemn pilgrimage was held to mark the 30th anniversary of the coronation of the ancient icon of the Yaroslavl Mother of God, known as the “Door of Mercy,” with papal crowns.
Interestingly, the modern history of this icon of the Mother of God has its own unique chapter. We all remember how the late Pope Francis, upon opening the Jubilee Year of Divine Mercy, wished for this icon to be by his side in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis understood that the tradition of opening the Jubilee Door of Divine Mercy in the Byzantine tradition of the Eastern Church is a thousand years older than in the Latin West. Yet the Door of Divine Mercy is also a figure—the person of the Mother of God. And today, particularly in Poland, this icon has received a new name: the Papal Icon.
And during this month of May, which our people dedicate to the Mother of God, we prayed for our suffering mother, Ukraine, and for our people, asking our Mother—who is our gateway to Mercy—to grant them peace.
Today we also pray: Lord Jesus Christ, hear the prayers of Your Mother, stop the war in Ukraine, and bless our long-suffering land and our suffering people 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.
Christ is risen!
