According to Shevchuk, the war in Ukraine “has escalated sharply in recent weeks.” Shevchuk currently sees no prospect of an imminent end, as the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church explained in an interview published on the website of the Archdiocese of Vienna (Tuesday).
With the recently unleashed conflict in the Middle East, “it is becoming increasingly obvious that Russia and its allies, such as Iran, are trying to spread war throughout the world,” said the cleric. “After failing to take Ukraine quickly, Russia is looking for allies around the world.”
War is also increasingly becoming an issue in the domestic politics of many European states, but also the United States. Shevchuk: “It is obvious that the tactic is to silence the world media on the issue of Ukraine, drawing the attention of international society to the Holy Land.” Of course, the attention surrounding events in the Holy Land is great. The Major Archbishop recalled that the city of Jerusalem is sacred to three major world religions. Ukrainians feel deeply connected to the people of the Holy Land and pray with them for peace, he assured. But: “The Gaza Strip is as big as half the capital of Ukraine. The dimensions of these two wars are incomparable,” said Shevchuk.
Once again the cleric reported the level of brutality with which the war was being fought in his homeland. “According to our information, the Russian army is losing almost 1,000 soldiers per day in the Donbass region alone. “The level of disregard for human life that Russia shows is shocking,” Shevchuk said. “The cruelty towards the civilian population makes our blood run cold.”
Winter will be even more difficult
In Ukraine, people are preparing for the coming winter of war, which the Major Archbishop feared would be even more difficult than last year. “This winter is a question of the survival of the civilian population. Last year, Russia destroyed 60% of Ukraine’s power grid. This year they will try to destroy the remaining 40 percent.” He himself can attest to how bad it is when there is no electricity, no heat, no water in a twelve or thirteen story apartment building. “Life becomes practically impossible.” Shevchuk therefore expects a wave of refugees. “People will not only flee the bombings, but mainly the cold.”
It is an “interesting fact” that almost all Eastern Catholic Churches live in conditions of war, said Shevchuk: in Ukraine, Armenia, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, now in the Holy Land, in Eritrea. In many countries there is “bloodshed” in church life in the original church territories. The Ukrainian church also suffers from massive emigration. “Since the start of the war, 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes – a third of the population. Of these 14 million, 6 million left Ukraine. Those who remained were housed as internally displaced people in other parts of the country,” the cleric explained.
On Tuesday, Shevchuk visited Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.
(cap – mg)