Shevchuk discusses UGCC role in Ukrainians’ return from abroad with OP rep

Shevchuk and Kovalska. Photo: UGCC

On May 7, 2025, Sviatoslav Shevchuk met with Olena Kovalska, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, at the UGCC center in Kyiv. This was reported by the UGCC press service.

The meeting addressed the role of around one thousand UGCC parishes and spiritual centers abroad. According to Shevchuk, these structures carry out “people’s and spiritual diplomacy” by informing foreign audiences about the war in Ukraine.

The head of the UGCC assured Kovalska that he constantly urges Ukrainians abroad to return after peace is established. “When your state calls you – come back, because Ukraine needs everyone for its revival,” Shevchuk quoted himself as telling Ukrainians in the diaspora. Shevchuk also presented Kovalska with the book “The NKVD-MGB-KGB Agency in Ukraine’s Orthodox Episcopate (1939–1964): Formation, Functions, Models of Behavior.”

Kovalska’s adviser Viktoria Tytarenko also took part in the meeting.

As the UOJ reported, Shevchuk said that the Pope’s strongest statement on Ukraine came after his meeting with the pontiff. The UGCC has an extensive network of structures in Western Europe, North America, and Australia, serving the large Ukrainian diaspora abroad, including those who left because of the war.

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