By Victoria Cardiel
Vatican City, Feb 24, 2025 / 16:05 pm
Monday, Feb. 24, marked three years of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion. According to U.N. data, more than 12,600 civilians have died in the conflict, including more than 2,400 children. In addition, more than 10% of the country’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, causing more than 2 million families to be displaced.
In this context, the apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, emphasized that, despite the pain and devastation, hope remains the only refuge for those suffering from the war.
“Pope Francis has proclaimed the Jubilee Year of Hope, and in such a horrible war, there is nothing left but hope. Military chaplains tell us that soldiers are grateful for any message of hope, because it is the only thing they have left,” Kulbokas said in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
Speaking at the apostolic nunciature in Kyiv, the representative of the Holy See in Ukraine described a country marked by suffering. “This weekend, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the war, we have many visits and events. For us, however, it’s not a special date, because every day is a day of war,” he said.
The normalization of the conflict has led Ukrainians to adapt psychologically to the violence. “I remember the first weeks of 2022, when the bishops spoke dramatically, not knowing whether they would live to see the next day. Now we have more psychological peace to live with, although the war is more intense and dramatic than at the beginning,” he explained.
However, everyday life remains shocking. “I no longer remember the last night without a drone attack.
Missile strikes may be sporadic, but drone attacks are a daily occurrence,” he sadly observed.
One of the aspects that deeply concerns the apostolic nuncio is the plight of prisoners of war and civilian detainees held by Russia. “Thousands of prisoners are enduring inhumane conditions,” he lamented.
He shared the story of Ludmila, a 60-year-old woman who spent nearly three years in a Russian prison. “She was subjected to weeks of torture, deprived of sleep, to the extent that she couldn’t distinguish between truth and lies. Ultimately, she signed documents without understanding what she was agreeing to,” he recounted.
The absence of mechanisms for releasing civilian detainees exacerbates the crisis. “While there is a system in place for exchanging military prisoners, civilians are left in a much more desperate situation,” he observed.
Vatican diplomacy has played a pivotal role in addressing humanitarian concerns. Through initiatives like “Bring Kids Back UA,” the Holy See has quietly facilitated the return of several dozen children deported by Russian forces.
Over the course of the conflict, Pope Francis has established a mechanism to negotiate the return of many children deported to Russia by occupying forces,” Kulbokas noted.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the president of the Italian bishops’ conference and Pope Francis’ envoy for peace in Ukraine, has been instrumental in this mission. Zuppi engages with Ukrainian and Russian authorities to address the plight of deported children and prisoners,” the nuncio shared.
Efforts to assist detained civilians face a significant hurdle: “Russia considers many of them to be Russian citizens, complicating the application of international protocols for their release.
