Two of Ukraine’s foremost bishops have commemorated Monday’s 35th anniversary of the country’s freedom from the Soviet Union, while describing the terrible conditions under which the recurrence was to unfold amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Speaking to Vatican News, both Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Bishop Vitalij Skomarovskyj of Lutsk, the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ukraine (Latin Rite), spoke about the importance of the day.
“For us, celebrating Ukraine’s Independence Day means, first and foremost, thanking the Lord for the gift of freedom, of which the independent Ukrainian state is the guarantor. For Christians, love of one’s homeland cannot turn into idolatry of the state,” Shevchuk said.
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“A state governed by the rule of law is an important instrument for protecting human dignity, freedom, the common good, and the people’s right to life. Love for one’s homeland is not hatred of others; rather, it is the willingness to assume responsibility for one’s people and to serve them,” he added.
Skomarovskyj said that the freedom Ukrainians enjoy today is a precious gift, especially when compared to the Soviet system.
“Today we live in an independent state and enjoy genuine freedom of conscience, not merely freedom written on paper. Every person has the opportunity to profess and bear witness to their faith,” Skomarovskyj said.
“Naturally, as in any country, there may be bureaucratic issues, but freedom of conscience is guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution and is a reality experienced in everyday life. For us, this gift is extraordinary and unique, especially when we look at the past,” he added.
Grim realities of war
Shevchuk also described how many civilian lives were being lost and the terrible effects rapidly-advancing technology is having on the war.
“All the experts who are trying to understand what is happening say that this war is increasingly becoming a high-tech war involving highly sophisticated weapons,” Shevchuk told Vatican News.
“Advancing along the front has become increasingly impossible and extremely costly for the Russian army. So they are trying to strike civilians, increasing the suffering of people who live especially in the large cities. This is why the capital of Ukraine has become the number-one target,” he added.
Shevchuk said that drones operated with cameras, as well as relying on artificial intelligence, are wreaking havoc in Ukrainian cities.
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“It is impossible to say that civilian casualties are accidental, unintended victims. For example, the other day a bus was struck in the city of Kherson. Not only the people traveling on that bus were killed, but also people who happened to be nearby. It is obvious that the operator of that drone could see the people he was killing,” he explained.
Skomarovskyj said that his experiences in recent years have shattered the ideas he previously had of war which he “formed by reading books, watching films, or following reports about wars in other parts of the world.”
“This reality is completely different. I could never have imagined that war was actually like this. I would say that all of this has led me to agree fully with St. John Paul II: war is a great scourge, and if there is even the slightest possibility of avoiding it, everything must be done to do so,” Skomarovskyj said.
“We probably understand its value most clearly when peace is gone, when there is war and everyone is in danger: children, the elderly, the weak and the strong—no one is excluded. It is then that you understand how precious peace—the absence of war—is for a people and a nation,” he added.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an American think tank, there have been more than two million military casualties between February 2022 and June 2026.
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Facts Only
* Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, spoke to Vatican News.
* Bishop Vitalij Skomarovskyj of Lutsk, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ukraine (Latin Rite), also spoke to Vatican News.
* The commemoration was for the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s freedom from the Soviet Union.
* Shevchuk stated that celebrating independence means thanking God for freedom, guaranteed by the independent Ukrainian state.
* Shevchuk asserted that love for one's homeland should not turn into the idolatry of the state.
* Freedom is described as a state governed by the rule of law, protecting human dignity and life.
* Skomarovskyj noted that Ukrainians enjoy freedom of conscience, guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution.
* Skomarovskyj stated that freedom of conscience is a reality experienced in daily life despite bureaucratic issues.
* Shevchuk described war as increasingly becoming a high-tech war involving sophisticated weapons.
* Drones and artificial intelligence are causing havoc in Ukrainian cities.
* A bus was struck in the city of Kherson, resulting in fatalities for passengers and nearby people.
* There have been more than two million military casualties between February 2022 and June 2026 according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Executive Summary
Two leading bishops from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Latin Rite Catholic Bishops' Conference spoke about the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's freedom from the Soviet Union on Monday. They emphasized that celebrating this day involves thanking God for freedom, with the independent state acting as the guarantor. One bishop stressed that the love for one's homeland should not devolve into state idolatry, but rather into assuming responsibility to serve the people under the rule of law. Another bishop highlighted that the freedom enjoyed today includes genuine freedom of conscience, which is guaranteed by the Constitution and experienced daily, regardless of bureaucratic issues.
The bishops also addressed the realities of the war, noting that experts indicate the conflict is evolving into a high-tech war involving sophisticated weapons, leading to increased civilian suffering. Specific incidents, such as a bus being struck in Kherson, were cited as evidence that drone operators can see the victims, suggesting civilian casualties are not purely accidental. Experiences during the war have led one bishop to re-evaluate prior views on war, agreeing with St. John Paul II that peace must be sought when danger is present for all segments of the population.
Full Take
The discourse centers on the tension between abstract political concepts—freedom, statehood, and conscience—and the brutal material reality of conflict. The bishops frame national freedom not merely as a legal achievement but as a spiritual responsibility, connecting political governance to Christian ethics. This act moves beyond mere historical remembrance to an appeal for moral agency in the face of violence.
A key pattern observed is the deployment of theological language to establish an unassailable moral ground against the chaos of war. By positioning freedom as a divine gift and linking state authority directly to human dignity, the speakers attempt to anchor national resilience within a framework that transcends immediate political maneuvering. However, the shift from discussing abstract rights (freedom of conscience) to visceral realities (civilian death by drone) necessitates an ongoing negotiation of which truth holds primacy in times of crisis.
The narrative employs what could be seen as an appeal to shared existential suffering to solidify a unified stance against conflict. The emphasis on the loss of ordinary life—the death of civilians and the erosion of personal liberty—serves to heighten the perceived value of the existing order and the need for peace. The implication is that true freedom is not guaranteed by state structures alone but must be actively defended through conscious moral choices, suggesting a pattern where spiritual authority is invoked to contextualize and validate material suffering.
Bridge Questions: How do differing interpretations of "love of one's homeland" inform practical strategies for post-conflict reconciliation? What ethical framework can effectively balance the pursuit of collective security with the individual right to conscience in high-tech warfare scenarios? If war necessitates a complete re-evaluation of historical perspectives, what mechanisms are needed to ensure that the weight of lived experience shapes policy rather than simply being incorporated into rhetoric?
Sentinel — Human
The text appears to be a compilation of direct statements from religious leaders concerning the war in Ukraine, interwoven with contextual information and expert references, suggesting human sourcing and synthesis rather than pure generation.