Catholic bishop of Kyiv: Russia has already lost the war

As Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church made up the balance sheet of the first year of the war, he reflects on a “year of pain, tears and blood, a year of struggle, a year of great courage and resilience”, he said, as reported by Die Tagespost.

At the same time, Shevchuk claims that Russia cannot win this war. “The occupier has not achieved any of the goals he set himself a year ago”, he says during his daily video message, published by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on the anniversary of the war. The Archbishop points out that Ukraine has liberated most of the territories the Russians conquered again. He added that he trusts the army to liberate the rest of Ukraine as well “from the destructive presence of the Russian invader.”

Prayer

Furthermore, Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk called for prayer for Ukraine, Religion.orf writes. Even though he calls it a miracle that Ukraine is still alive, he points out that there are thousands of dead and tens of thousands of wounded people. “The achievements of civilisation, of culture, education, science and intellectual life have suffered a severe blow”, he said during his video message.

Therefore, he called for a day of prayer, fasting and almsgiving on the war's first anniversary on February 24. “Because we feel that when we unite in prayer, fasting and good deeds, we win”, he said, adding that spiritual strength is necessary to “move closer to victory.”