“We don’t know how we will live this Christmas, how we will survive Christmas, it will be a difficult time, but the help and the charity that we are receiving from all over the world means Christmas every day,” said Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, in a short video sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

All the bishops and priests in Ukraine are very grateful for the help provided by ACN, he said. “And we are especially grateful for your prayers, because these prayers reach God, our Father. This is the most important help that we are receiving from you.”

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, also spoke of the special circumstances of this Christmas in his thank you message. “Let me convey to you the best wishes and thanks from Ukraine, amidst the cold. No electricity, no heating. But with God, who is coming to be again born among us. May God’s presence be our hope, be our faith and be the source of our life in today’s circumstances of war in Ukraine!”