Video-message of the Head of the UGCC on the 176th Week of Full-Scale War, June 29, 2025
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Seventeen and a half weeks have passed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of our native Ukrainian land. Although we know this war began in 2014, we continue to remember all our heroes in prayer—from the beginning of the war until now. Today, once again, we thank God and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for keeping us alive. We are grateful to all our soldiers who, from the battles near Ilovaisk onward, have stopped the enemy from advancing in the Donbas region. We remember all our heroes who continue to lay down their lives for their homeland.
This past week has again been marked by intense fighting. Our cities and villages are burning day and night. According to various analytical reports, the enemy has adopted the tactic of ‘carpet bombing’ our towns and cities. It appears that Kyiv, our capital, is becoming the most dangerous place in Ukraine. The enemy is deliberately trying to wear down our forces, terrorize the population, and destroy critical infrastructure.
But this week, our hearts ached especially for Dnipro. On 24 June, around 20 people were killed in a massive missile strike that involved various types of weaponry. Nearly 300 residents of Dnipro and the Dnipropetrovsk region were seriously injured. Around the same time, the Russians struck Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in broad daylight, targeting a lyceum (a secondary school). Thankfully, no children were present, but three staff members lost their lives.
On 26 June, we witnessed another significant prisoner exchange, for which we give thanks to God. We are grateful for every one of our heroes and soldiers who returned home alive after enduring horrific torture.
As we reflect on this week, we give thanks to God and proclaim to the world: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
Undoubtedly, 28 June will go down in history as a momentous day for Ukraine and for our Church. Yesterday, on a warm Saturday, the Ukrainian diaspora made a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
We were invited on this pilgrimage of hope by the late Pope Francis. However, it was the newly elected Pope Leo XIV who welcomed us at St. Peter’s Basilica. It was an emotional encounter. Pope Leo greeted me with the words, “Welcome to Rome.”
As bishops of our Church from around the world, we had the honour of leading this pilgrimage alongside Christ the Pilgrim and our faithful. At the tomb of the Apostle Peter, we sang the Ukrainian spiritual hymn, “God, Great and One, Protect Ukraine.”
Pope Leo addressed us all with profound and heartfelt words. He welcomed and consoled the mothers who had lost their children in the war. He also blessed icons painted on the lids of ammunition boxes, and offered a special prayer for Ukraine before icons depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary.
According to Vatican security services, more than 7,000 Ukrainians from all across Ukraine, as well as from North and South America, Australia, Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan, took part in the pilgrimage.
Today, we express our deep gratitude to His Holiness Pope Leo and to all those who made this pilgrimage possible. We came as pilgrims of hope—and we return home as its witnesses.
The Holy Father reminded us that our faith does not give us all the answers, but rather leads us to the source of our hope: our risen Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
We felt this hope rekindled in our hearts through every sign and symbol of God’s presence among us. We return home as witnesses to this hope for victory—victory for Ukraine, victory of good over evil, of truth over falsehood, and of life over death.
Today, Sunday, 29 June, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. For the first time in our Church’s history, our bishops—gathered from all over the world—began their work with a festive Divine Liturgy celebrated together with Pope Leo. This joint liturgy and Eucharist is a visible and powerful sign of the communion between the Church of Kyiv and the successor of the Apostle Peter. As Pope Leo reminded us, this unity has been sealed with the blood of martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and heroes of Christian life from our Church and our people.
Today, we also opened the Synod of our bishops, which will continue here in Rome until 10 July. The central theme of our Synod is the pastoral care of the family. We recognize today how the Christian family—fruitful, faithful, and united in love between husband and wife, open to the gift of new life—is under threat. This sacred bond, the foundational unit of both society and the Church, is in need of protection and support. Together, we aim to stand with Ukrainian families, both in Ukraine and throughout the diaspora.
I ask all of you to pray for the work of our Synod—for the grace of the Holy Spirit—so that our bishops may truly discern God’s will and God’s plan for our Church and our people. That we may serve all those wounded by this terrible war. That we may serve our people—wherever they are today.
On this feast of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul, we ask these first apostles—who even now intercede before God’s throne—to pray for Christ’s Church and for Ukraine.
Bless our Church and our people, O Lord! Comfort those who weep, strengthen the weary, heal the wounded, and bring home those who are lost. Welcome into Your eternal embrace those who gave their lives for their people, their homeland, and their Church.
Lord, bless the Ukrainian people with Your holy and righteous 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.
