Families of captured and missing defenders meet with Patriarch Bartholomew

27 February, 17:06

In Istanbul, at the Phanar, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew conducted a service honoring the victims of the war initiated by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Families of Ukrainian defenders who have been captured or are missing participated in the service.

This information was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The Ecumenical Patriarch spoke about the destroyed cities and the millions of displaced persons. He prayed for the prisoners of war and for those who lost loved ones due to the conflict, highlighting the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

At the end of the prayer service, at the initiative of the families of the 115th Mechanized Brigade, the Patriarch received a copy of Oleksii Anulia's book "Jingle Bellz," which recounts the experiences of a Ukrainian defender and the horrors of Russian captivity.

In addition to meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch, the families of prisoners and missing defenders also met with diplomats at the Consulate General of Ukraine and attended a screening of the film "Silence: An Accomplice to Crime." This documentary, created with the families' help, serves as a call to international organizations to increase pressure on Russia to comply with the Geneva Conventions.

Tags: #Istanbul #Bartholomew I #Prisoner exchange #Russian aggression against Ukraine #Ukraine-Constantinople relations