UCCRO appeals to Pope Leo XIV regarding the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war and the return of deported children
This was announced on the official website of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations on August 26.
“The full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has continued for more than three and a half years. The Ukrainian people are enduring massive human losses, the destruction of cities and villages, the deportation and unlawful displacement of Ukrainian children, and are experiencing one of the gravest humanitarian catastrophes in Europe since the Second World War. One of the most painful issues remains the detention of thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages in captivity on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the UCCRO statement notes.
Particularly sensitive for Ukrainian society is the issue of the deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of the Russian Federation, where many are held in specialized institutions and raised in an atmosphere of hostility toward their national identity and the state of Ukraine.
UCCRO expressed gratitude to the Pope for his consistent stance in defense of a just peace, his support for ending the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and his efforts to address the humanitarian problems in Ukraine caused by the war.
