Head of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church calls for unity: the whole nation will win or lose the war

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Sviatoslav, has published a column on the importance of unity in Ukraine after years of full-scale war. He recalls how in February 2022 society came together as people opened their homes to strangers, joined defense ranks and rescued the wounded, but warns that after years of struggle, accumulated fatigue, pain and mutual grievances now threaten that unity.

A historical parallel

Sviatoslav points to the recent reburial of Colonel Yevhen Konovalets in Ukraine as a symbolic event, recalling that after his assassination, Moscow sought to provoke conflict among the successors of the Ukrainian liberation movement to sow mutual distrust. He argues that Russia changes its flags and leaders but keeps the same imperial logic, now wielding distrust as a weapon alongside missiles and drones.

Freedom does not mean silence

The church leader stresses that the call for unity does not mean demanding silence or uniform thinking — free people have the right to criticize authorities, demand justice and hold differing political views. However, he distinguishes between disputes conducted for the common good and struggles aimed at destroying an opponent, noting that a political opponent does not stop being a fellow citizen.

Shared responsibility for the burden of war

Sviatoslav emphasizes that the war cannot be won by a president, a general or even the army alone without the nation standing behind them — responsibility for defending Ukraine, supporting the wounded and families of the fallen, and helping veterans return to peaceful life is shared by the whole society. He calls against dividing Ukrainians into those who stayed and those who went abroad, since millions of Ukrainians outside the country remain part of the nation.

He concludes by citing the Christian tradition's words about unity in essentials, freedom in secondary matters, and love in all things, stressing that Ukraine's freedom and independence must not be a matter on which the nation is divided.