Ukraine war – Update

When will the Ukraine war end?

My wish is that the war ends this year. Is it possible? I do not know, but I do believe in miracles,” said the Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Russian invasion of Ukraine started one year ago, on February 24, 2022. Since then, over 5 million people have left the country and are living as refugees, and more than 7 million are internally displaced within Ukraine.

“When the war in Ukraine ends, our task, as a Church, is to help heal the wounds of the nation. Almost 80% of Ukrainians need some help to overcome their traumas.”

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of
the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Emergency aid to Ukraine

ACN was one of the first organizations to assist the Ukrainians when the war started. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, ACN has financed 292 projects in Ukraine amounting to over 9,5 million euros and benefiting more than 15,000 people.

At first, the foundation committed 1.3 million euros for emergency aid to 4,879 priests and religious brothers and 1,350 religious sisters in the country. The first cities to receive immediate help were: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhya, Odesa, and others in the region of Donetsk.

ACN enables the presence of priests and religious with their people, with the refugees, in their parishes and convents, and in the orphanages and homes for single mothers and aged and sick people. To ensure that they helped the people in need, the charity launched a second aid package of 8.2 million euros, which went directly to religious, priests, and seminarians hosting and caring for the millions of displaced Ukrainians. The help was also used to purchase generators to supply energy for shelters and vehicles to transport goods and material donations.

ACN’s help to Ukraine

Since the armed conflict, which resulted in the annexation of Crimea in 2014, ACN has supported the Greek Catholic and Latin Catholic communities in Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, and Kyiv-Zhytomyr with more than 350,000 euros.

Despite being cut off from the rest of Ukraine, with the help of the Pontifical Foundation, priests and religious sisters could offer emergency help and pastoral care for their communities; military chaplains could carry out their mission in eastern Ukraine; and the diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr could assist people that fled the conflict areas around Luhansk and Donetsk. 

Ukraine was the country that received the most aid from ACN last year.

How to help Ukraine now?

Since the Church decided to stay with the people, ACN’s priority is to uphold the Church within the country and support those who cannot or will not flee.

“Ukraine might not be in the news anymore, but please do not forget us! Without your help, we will not survive.”

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic

The Pontifical Foundation is helping Ukraine with emergency aid and prayers.

 

How can I help Ukraine? 

You can also help Ukraine now through prayer and material contribution.