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 that the celebrations will take place in from 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.
“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 wrecking havoc in Ukrainian cities.
“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, President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ukraine (Latin Rite), spoke to Vatican News.
* Shevchuk stated that celebrating Independence Day means thanking the Lord for freedom, guaranteed by the independent Ukrainian state.
* Shevchuk asserted that love for one's homeland should not turn into idolatry of the state.
* Shevchuk described the state governed by the rule of law as an instrument protecting human dignity and freedom.
* Skomarovskyj stated that Ukrainians enjoy genuine freedom of conscience, not just freedom written on paper.
* The freedom of conscience is guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution and is a reality in daily life.
* Shevchuk described the war as increasingly becoming a high-tech war involving sophisticated weapons.
* Russian forces are attempting to strike civilians, increasing suffering in cities, making the capital a target.
* Drones utilizing cameras and artificial intelligence are causing havoc in Ukrainian cities.
* A bus in Kherson was struck by a drone, resulting in civilian deaths.
* Skomarovskyj stated that recent war experiences led him to agree with St. John Paul II that all efforts must be made to avoid war because peace is essential for the safety of all.
* More than two million military casualties occurred between February 2022 and June 2026, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The discourse presented juxtaposes foundational spiritual concepts—the nature of freedom and conscience—with brutal empirical reality. The bishops frame the struggle not just in geopolitical terms but as a defense of intrinsic human dignity and spiritual liberty against an encroaching, technologically intensified violence. Shevchuk’s emphasis on love being responsibility rather than idolatry suggests that political structures are subordinate to moral imperatives, setting a high ethical bar for any state, even one fighting for survival. Skomarovskyj's affirmation of freedom of conscience being an experienced reality challenges the notion that political liberation is the sole determinant of human existence; spiritual and personal liberty must be recognized as equally fundamental.
The pattern emerging is the attempt to anchor existential suffering within a moral framework rooted in historical context (the loss of Soviet-era constraints) and theological principles (stewardship of life). The shift from traditional understandings of war (formed by history and literature) to the observed reality—a high-tech conflict where civilian lives are treated as collateral—forces a re-evaluation of what constitutes legitimate conflict. The description of drone strikes as causing direct, observable loss forces an acknowledgment that abstract legal concepts must confront tangible human cost immediately.
The underlying implication is that true freedom cannot be solely defined by political borders or written law; it requires the protection of internal, unassailable domains—the freedom of conscience and the sanctity of life irrespective of military objectives. The tension lies in balancing the necessity of state responsibility (as articulated by Shevchuk) with the immediate humanitarian need to halt technologically driven destruction experienced by civilians. What assumptions about the prioritization of these two types of freedom drive the response to current conflict? How can a society reconcile the demands of collective security with the protection of individual conscience amidst warfare?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads as a compilation of direct quotes and contextual framing provided by high-ranking religious leaders regarding the meaning of freedom and the devastating, high-tech nature of the war in Ukraine.