War in Ukraine

The top-ranking U.S. military officer told reporters he and Pope Francis discussed the war in Ukraine, especially the war’s impact on the people there.

As Russia attacks Ukraine’s grain exports — which feed millions in several nations — a U.S. bishop is calling on global leaders to ensure food security.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ international policy committee called on Catholics and all people of goodwill to pray that the leaders of the United States and other nations around the globe “who govern the control” of nuclear weapons “will earnestly seek to make critically needed progress on arms control.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill moving the official observance of Christmas Day to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, when Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church mark the holiday.

A Russian attack on a key Ukrainian port city has partially destroyed a historic Ukrainian Orthodox cathedral and UNESCO World Heritage site, prompting international outrage and pledges to rebuild.