In a July 6 message, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that the “last 24 hours have again been very difficult for Ukraine” because of the Russian bombardment of the eastern and southern parts of the nation.

“Many people have died, the enemy is relentlessly attacking our Motherland,” he said. “The fiercest battles are fought around the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, on the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.”

“Yesterday we were simply appalled by the tragedy in the city of Slovyansk, when in broad daylight a rocket attack was launched on the market, where many people had come to buy food,” he added. “Every night, Kharkiv trembles under rocket attacks from the territory of the Russian Federation.”

“Our Mykolaiv in the south is once again becoming the epicenter of powerful Russian bombardments,” he continued. “Last night an air alert was sounded all over Ukraine and the enemy launched a missile attack on our Khmelnytsky region.”

“But Ukraine holds firm. Ukraine is fighting. Ukraine is fighting for its freedom.”