Head of the UGCC in the 209th Week of the War: Wherever the Russian Occupier Sets Foot, Life, Human Dignity, Rights, and Freedoms Come to an End
The Primate personally handed Pope Leo XIV lists of nearly 400 prisoners of war and missing persons. This was stated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in his traditional video address marking the 209th week of the brutal war that began in 2014.
Meeting between His Beatitude Sviatoslav and Pope Leo XIV, February 12, 2026. Photo: Vatican Media
Summing up the past week, the Primate noted that it had once again been marked by crimes, yet at the same time by a struggle for life, humanity, warmth, and light.
According to him, fierce battles raged along the entire front line throughout the week, wherever our young men and women are defending Ukraine, Europe, and the world from Russian aggression, risking their lives.
“Everyone understands that wherever the Russian occupier sets foot, life ends, and with it human dignity, rights, and freedoms,” the spiritual leader said.
This week, the attention of Ukrainians and of the entire world was also focused on the Olympic Games in Italy. “Ukrainian society was utterly dismayed by the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify our team’s flag bearer, Vladyslav Heraskevych, for wearing a ‘helmet of remembrance’ to remind the world that Ukraine remembers its heroes. This athlete proved that there are values more important than Olympic medals.”
The Head of the Church expressed his deep gratitude to all those who stand in solidarity with Ukraine. Last week, parishes, dioceses, and eparchies across Europe, particularly in Poland, as well as all our communities in Western Europe, held collections to support Ukraine, especially Kyiv.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also noted that he had arrived in Brazil with the bishops of the Permanent Synod for a regular session. “We have the opportunity to meet not only with our bishops, but also with priests, monks, and laypeople, so that the Brazilian diaspora may feel that Ukraine is far away, and yet still close. We see how Ukrainians here are concerned about their homeland, how their thoughts and prayers turn to the land from which their ancestors came almost a century ago. Our Church is developing a global network of Ukrainian unity, which lives, grows, and functions within the worldwide Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.”
Read also:
Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 209th Week of the Full-Scale War, February 15, 2026
The Primate shared that last week he had the opportunity to personally hand Pope Leo XIV lists of nearly 400 prisoners of war and missing persons. “I explained that these lists were not taken from open sources. Every time I visit our communities in different cities and villages of Ukraine, fathers, mothers, wives, and children come to me with tears in their eyes and ask for the rescue of their loved ones. That is how I receive these names. I said, ‘Holy Father, what I can attest to today is that the names of our soldiers who are in captivity are now in your hands. Our people deeply feel that from this moment on, their names are also in God’s hands.’”
Read also:
A Meeting Between His Beatitude Sviatoslav and Pope Leo XIV Takes Place in the Vatican
The Pope assured him that he would make every effort to help secure their release and that he continues to pray constantly for the Ukrainian people in their struggle.
The UGCC Department for Information
