Ukraine

Four years into a relentless war that has largely faded from news headlines, Ukraine is still facing a massive humanitarian crisis.

Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states and international organizations, arrived in Moscow Aug. 24 for a four-day visit, with meetings scheduled with Russian government, Orthodox and Catholic leaders.

Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Sudan caught between conflict between state military and paramilitary forces.

Catholic and Orthodox leaders are expressing shock and outrage after a Russian drone strike heavily damaged a historic monastery complex in Kyiv, Ukraine, with a cathedral set ablaze.

The apostolic nuncio to Ukraine expressed his support for initiatives that will lead to the end of war following the release of an open letter by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling for peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hearteningly, Fr. Roman Ostrovsky, the rector of the Kyiv Three Saints Seminary, has heard multiple Ukrainian soldiers express an interest in the consecrated life once the war with Russia comes to an end.

Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war has fundamentally reshaped the Catholic Church’s mission, turning parishes into shelters, priests into chaplains and charity into daily survival.

Each year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops takes up its annual Collection for the Catholic Church in Central and Eastern Europe. Ahead of the collection OSV News spoke with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

Nearly four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, intensified Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure are deepening the country's humanitarian crisis.

While political leaders debate the terms of a peace settlement in gilded halls of power, Ukrainians living in the nightmare of an ongoing war are struggling to survive and rebuild the tattered remnants of their lives, say those working on the ground with parishes, eparchies and local partners such as Caritas Ukraine.