Active Love in a Cold War: How the Church Warms Kyiv
February 24, 2026
This interview with Father Lyubomyr Yavorskyy, Patriarchal Econome of the UGCC and Director of the Patriarchal Foundation “Mudra Sprava,” is a conversation about active love and how the Church, along with its partners in Ukraine and abroad, is helping Kyiv and the Kyiv region survive the “cold winter” of war.
Halyna Babiy: I follow your work closely and I see it everywhere: Troieshchyna, Holosiivskyi, Obolon, Irpin… You are everywhere. Could you tell us how you managed to gather this invaluable aid that you are currently providing to the people of Kyiv and the surrounding region? It is said you have powerful partners, particularly your Polish colleagues.
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: I recently had the opportunity to attend the Synod of Bishops in Lviv. To be completely honest, leaving Kyiv is psychologically difficult. My team and I understand that this is where we need to be. The challenge is right here: freezing temperatures, the elements, war, missiles, Shahed drones, the lack of heating… In these conditions, the Gospel commandments are felt in a very special way: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” It does not say literally “when I was cold, you warmed me,” but the meaning is exactly the same. We must warm people—not just with affection, but through active love.
The mission of “Mudra Sprava” is the transformation of Ukrainian society. We want to already be thinking about post-war reconstruction, but for now, the enemy continues to terrorize us day and night. Therefore, when people need immediate help—especially in Kyiv and the Kyiv region—we cannot just talk about a distant, grand goal; we have to do something concrete right now.
Halyna Babiy: Yes, we have learned to live differently here. We thank God when it is at least 10 °C inside our homes…
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: Exactly. As my grandmother used to say, “May God grant it gets no worse.” That is what we live by. In such conditions, you learn to truly value the simple things.
It all started when His Beatitude Sviatoslav was corresponding with Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, the Archbishop of Kraków. After one particularly “hellish night”—when severe frosts struck right as the energy grid was hit, plunging us into a nationwide blackout—the Cardinal asked, ‘How can we help?’ His Beatitude made an appeal: ‘Help us with generators.’ And he did not ask ‘for the church,’ but for the suffering people in Kyiv.
The Cardinal responded immediately, and we witnessed how Christian solidarity transcends nationality. There are political issues that cause friction between us, but here we faced the elements—the horrific winter we all dreaded, and it had arrived. This solidarity manifested concretely: over 6 million PLN (more than 1 million EUR) was raised in Warsaw and Kraków. Every bit of it was directed toward sustaining life in Kyiv and its region.
Halyna Babiy: You mention functioning as an “crisis response center”—first COVID, then the full-scale invasion, and now this winter…
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: That is exactly what it is. We are grateful for the aid and grateful to be the ones delivering it. But the needs are colossal; we receive constant requests from district administrations and the city of Kyiv. Today, I met with city representatives to discuss these needs. It is vital that education does not stop, that children can go to school. We do not just see apartment buildings with frozen pipes; we see children missing out on their education. And that is one of the enemy’s goals—to make our children “grow wild.”
Therefore, generators are needed not only for resilience centers but also for schools and kindergartens—to provide heat and light, and to thaw out plumbing systems. It might be thawing today, but freezing temperatures will return tomorrow. And no one can guarantee that the shelling will stop.
Halyna Babiy: And you really were often the very first to show up and help…
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: Yes, several heads of district administrations told us: “The Church was the first to arrive.” But we always emphasize: this is the solidarity of Catholics from all over the world. It is not just Poland. We distribute hot meals, and people beg us not to stop. For instance, Father Yosafat Boyko calls me from Ivano-Frankivsk: “Our parish raised 80,000 UAH to help feed the people of Kyiv.” In Australia, it is summer, yet they are asking how they can help keep Ukraine warm. Bishop Mykola Bychok from Australia, Bishop Bohdan Dzyurakh from Germany, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak from the USA, even partners in Brazil—everyone is looking for ways to support us. This is a magnificent display of Christian solidarity.
Halyna Babiy: You go into residential areas where people might have never stepped foot inside a church. Do they understand the mission of the Church in such a critical time?
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: They do. Especially when the Church is the only one left standing by their side. They might be non-practicing, but they see how God touches them through other people.
We always tell them that we do not “own” this aid ourselves—we engage the global community and amplify love through concrete assistance. And we see it in their eyes, in their gratitude. Right now, it is hardest on the children and the elderly. The elderly have often lost everything: their homes, their land, their property, the lives they spent decades building. And now, they face forced displacement, living in a modular container home. Yet, they are deeply grateful even for that.
Halyna Babiy: Have there been instances where people turn to you, but you have nothing left to give?
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: That is a very good question, but a painful one. I have become convinced of one thing: if you are truly serving, your hands will never be empty. Even when material resources are depleted, you can always offer a comforting word, a thread of hope, support, faith in God, and faith in humanity.
But there is another reality: resources have drastically diminished. We are in the fourth year of this war, moving into the fifth. This is true for all organizations. The suffering has increased, but the resources are fewer. There are moments when you feel utterly helpless: “Lord, how can I help these people?” But our Church tradition is rooted in active love and social ministry. We cannot just fold our hands. So, we rally the community—partners and non-partners, Christians and non-Christians alike—just to keep helping.
Halyna Babiy: You can feel that society is changing: people are more united, and the word “unity” (sobornist) is no longer empty. Do you perceive this as a true transformation?
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: I once read a book titled If Not for the War. The title itself is painful because war is an anomaly. But the underlying thought was: “If not for the war, I would have never known true friendship…” People are learning to see the world through spiritual eyes, rather than just living in the pain.
For example, we visit modular towns for displaced persons in Irpin. Everything there runs on electricity—cooking, heating. In minus 20 °C weather, they plead: “Please bring us heat, we cannot even cook a meal.” I walked into one of those small homes and met a man who had lost three of his limbs. I brought him a hot meal, and he looked at me and said, “I regret nothing.” There was so much strength and willpower in him—it completely resets your own perception.
When society is boiling over with frustrations regarding injustice, corruption scandals, or blocked roads, we must remember: there are guys sitting in trenches right now without light, without heat, without hot water. We all have to endure this path together. And the mission of the Church is to explain, to bring clarity, and to unite.
Halyna Babiy: You mentioned military chaplaincy, the COVID crisis center, and now “Mudra Sprava.” How does it happen that God entrusts you with such “roads” and such heavy crosses?
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: This isn’t just entrusted to me—it is entrusted to all of us. In the exact moment, we do not understand “what for.” But from the perspective of time, it becomes clear why it was given. God is outside of time, while we are bound within it. Personally, my experience on the frontlines, in organizational management, and in leadership is what helped me in 2022: knowing how to create a system out of chaos, how to unite people, and how to move forward without fear.
One must know how to accept their cross and interpret its meaning correctly. There is a thought that brings comfort: God never gives a cross heavier than you can bear.
As a nation, we must realize something else: to look into the eyes of the mothers, wives, and children who have already lost loved ones—and will never get them back—we must walk this path with utmost dignity. And we must rebuild this country into something greater than it ever was before. Only then will we fully understand what this was all for.
Halyna Babiy: Right before we started recording, you were looking into the eyes of the mother of a fallen hero… Do you remain close to these families?
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: Yes. From the very first days of their grief—and we stay with them. We do this through our chaplains and our priests.
Halyna Babiy: And finally, where do you draw your strength? I find myself thinking ahead, wondering where to find it…
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: I worry deeply about our priests burning out because the clergy is working at the absolute limit of human capacity. But the ultimate resource of the Church is found within service itself.
There is a simple formula: if you want to save yourself, help someone else.
My personal resource is replenished when I serve. If I stop serving, I will lose that energy. Movement, labor, and above all—not closing yourself off, but remaining completely open to your neighbor. That is our strength: the ability to see our neighbor.
Halyna Babiy: Thank you for this profound conversation. May your ministry continue to be worthy and necessary for the people—both in this time of war and in the era of reconstruction.
Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy: Thank you.
Based on materials from the video program “A Good Conversation” on “Zhyve Telebachennia” (Living TV)
Press Service of the Patriarchal Foundation “Mudra Sprava”