Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war

Ukraine’s religious leaders have issued a “desperate cry” to the global faith community, pleading for international action in ending “the humanitarian and spiritual catastrophe” resulting from Russia’s war on their nation.

The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which represents the various Christian, Jewish and Muslim bodies of Ukraine, issued a July 8 appeal, hours ahead of Russia’s largest aerial attack to date on Ukraine, which saw 728 drones and 13 missiles target cities throughout the nation.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who met privately with Pope Leo XIV July 9 at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo — said in a July 9 X post the latest Russian attack was “telling,” coming “precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire,” while “only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”

According to the Holy See press office, Pope Leo assured Zelenskyy of his pastoral closeness and prayers for Ukraine, and stressed the Vatican’s openness to host diplomatic negotiations between Ukraine and Russia — an offer that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had previously dismissed as “a bit vulgar.”

The pope also focused on the topics of prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children forcibly deported from Ukraine by Russia, who number at least 19,546 and, by Russia’s own account, totals some 700,000. The transfers, which violate international law, have incurred International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and that nation’s child commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova.

Speaking to journalists after his meeting with the pope, Zelenskyy affirmed Ukraine’s desire for peace, adding, “We very much count on the Vatican and His Holiness to help provide a place for a high-level meeting of leaders to end this war.”

Zelenskyy’s meeting took place ahead of his participation in the July 10-11 Ukraine Recovery Conference, hosted this year by Italy. Now in its fourth year, the gathering will bring together global leaders in government, business and society to discuss long-term efforts for Ukraine’s rebuilding following Russia’s full-scale invasion, which was launched in 2022 and continues attacks initiated in 2014.

Concurrently, the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, led by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, have been in Rome for their June 29-July 10 synod, during which they have also met with Pope Leo, Ukrainian pilgrims and Italian government officials.

The synod has focused in particular on the pastoral care of families amid the war, which has ravaged families through death, separation and other physical, mental and emotional traumas, said Bishop Arkady Trokhanowski of the Eparchy of Olsztyn-Gdansk, Poland, in his synod report.

In its July 8 address, UCCRO pointed to Russia’s escalating attacks on civilians, as well as its
“brutal violation of human rights and freedoms in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.”

Those violations include “religious persecution, the closure of places of worship, torture and killings of clergy from various denominations, the forced migration of millions and the separation of families, the abduction of Ukrainian children, and horrific treatment of both military personnel and civilian captives,” said UCCRO.

The organization lamented that “the international community often looks away in shame or silence from these atrocities,” even as the world recognizes “the ideology of the so-called ‘Russian World’ which fuels this aggression poses a threat not only to Ukraine but to global peace and security.”

UCCRO implored “people of faith in democratic nations, and all individuals of goodwill, to raise a united voice for truth and justice.

“We urge you to use every available means of influence to bring an end to this horrific war and to ensure that the criminal actions of the aggressor are justly condemned, in accordance with Higher Justice,” said UCCRO.

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