Document
The World Council of Churches notes with sadness that three years later the war continues without any immediate signs of an end despite past and recent efforts.
The futility of this war is written in the enormous cost of lives among civilians and many children, and the vast toll of destruction and displacement. Essential civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and water supplies, have been damaged or destroyed, often in targeted attacks. One quarter of the pre-war population has fled the country as refugees. Ukraine has become the most heavily mined country in the world, and attacks on and around nuclear power facilities threaten environmental catastrophe.
The highest authority of the World Council of Churches (WCC) – the WCC Assembly, which convened in Karlsruhe, Germany, in September 2022 – denounced the Russian invasion of its sovereign neighbour Ukraine as “illegal and unjustifiable”, appealed for the principles of international law to be respected, and called for “an immediate ceasefire to halt the death and destruction, and for dialogue and negotiations to secure a sustainable peace”. These positions and appeals have been reiterated by the WCC at many points in the intervening years, but the invasion, its attendant war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the mounting toll in lives, communities and future hopes destroyed has continued.
On this tragic anniversary we say again: the Russian invasion of its sovereign neighbour Ukraine is illegal, immoral and unjustifiable. At the same time, we say again that the death and destruction must be brought to an end. We call once again for dialogue and negotiations to secure a sustainable just peace. The WCC welcomes any legitimate effort that genuinely seeks a sustainable peace in the region, without simply rewarding the aggression that has been perpetrated and the violation of so many principles of international law established in the aftermath of the Second World War to protect the vulnerable against the depredations of the powerful. To undermine the rule of law in this way would simply be to invite further aggression. Moreover, the legitimacy of any such peace process is ultimately contingent upon the inclusion of the victim of this aggression at the table of negotiations and decision-making. Such decisions cannot be made for a people but only with them if they are to be accepted, owned and sustainable.
The WCC is committed to continuing to work with and through its member churches and partners to promote social cohesion in Ukraine, and for justice, peace and reconciliation in the region. We pray for an immediate ceasefire, Christian unity against violence and injustice, and for the peace to which our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ calls us.
Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay
General Secretary
World Council of Churches
