War in Ukraine

After Russian President Vladimir Putin said Feb. 21 that Russia will suspend its participation in a key nuclear arms treaty, Catholic scholars and other experts called the move concerning for the world.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s unexpected Feb. 20 visit to Kyiv, calmly walking alongside Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as air raid sirens wailed in the capital, is being hailed as a surprise and a signal to the world, Ukrainian Catholic leaders told OSV News.

Russia’s aggression poses “the biggest threat to religious freedom in Ukraine,” said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, head of all Ukrainian Catholics in the U.S., during a Jan. 30 panel discussion on the subject.

Catholic religious orders have played a major role in channeling life-saving humanitarian aid across Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, keeping hopes alive while continuing to minister to the country’s much-depleted Catholic communities.