The Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine comments on the current situation in the capital, where dozens upon dozens of Russian missiles have struck - some even in the district where the Holy See’s diplomatic mission is located.

During the night between 9 and 10 July, the city of Kyiv was subjected to a massive Russian attack involving drones and ballistic missiles. Powerful explosions were heard in the capital, fires broke out, and casualties were reported. The building of the Apostolic Nunciature was also damaged. Nuncio Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas spoke about it in an interview with Vatican Media:

The following is a translation of the original Italian interview conducted by Svitlana Dukhovich. It has been adapted slighlty for clarity and flow.

The attacks on the city are becoming increasingly intense - much more frequent and powerful than the already severe strikes of the past three years. Even last night and in the early hours of this morning, there were dozens upon dozens of missiles and drones. What’s especially concerning is that the drones appear to be targeting civilian neighbourhoods. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears that some drones circled directly around the nunciature and nearby houses. I don’t know what they were looking for. We heard several explosions - two of them very close. I also inspected the damage to nearby residential buildings: one about 70 metres away, another about 90 metres. Our own premises suffered some damage as well, both to the main building - the roof - and to the garage and service areas. We collected around ten fairly large fragments, and I believe it was a drone rather than a missile. Thankfully, none of us was harmed. But it’s striking, of course, to see explosions happening right nearby.

The nunciature is located in a central district of the capital…

Yes, the building is in the Shevchenkivskyi district, a very large area. Many embassies are located here. Statistics indicate that this is the most heavily targeted neighbourhood in all of Ukraine, apart from frontline cities like Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Sumy. So, after those cities, Shevchenkivskyi in Kyiv has been the hardest hit in terms of both missile and drone strikes. Some land just a few hundred metres away, but last night several came extremely close. We don’t yet know how many casualties there were - often that information comes one, two, or even three days later. But every morning at Holy Mass, we pray for any potential victims. Of course, all this creates many difficulties: for example, even today, for the umpteenth time, our staff couldn’t arrive on time because movement was impossible - the streets have to be cleared of a massive amount of debris and shrapnel. All of this certainly urges us to pray even more fervently, asking the Lord to grant us the gift of peace, since humanity seems unable to achieve it.

I imagine that after such a difficult night, it must be hard to carry on with the day’s commitments…

Absolutely - daytime energy drops significantly. What’s more, these very days the sisters who serve at the Nunciature are hosting their Superior General and some councillors. They too had a sleepless night. They belong to the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent. The Congregation was established in Ukraine on 8 June 1926 by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, as the Eastern branch of the original order founded in Belgium. Their General House is in Lviv, and a community of three sisters collaborates closely with our Nunciature - for which we are deeply grateful. Last night we also hosted the bishop-elect of Kamianets-Podilskyi of the Latin rite [Bishop Edward Kava, OFM Conv, ed.]. The fragments that hit the structure also fell just a few metres from both my residence and that of the Bishop. When explosions are that strong, there’s no way to sleep, so we came downstairs, ready to evacuate if the building caught fire. Staying on the upper floors would be too dangerous - there wouldn’t be enough time to escape, just as happens in many civilian homes when they are hit. For those who survive, the real challenge is leaving the building in time, because drones not only cause blast damage but also carry burning fuel. In fact, today and in recent days, it’s been impossible to open the windows - the city is burning. The toxic fuel from the drones and missiles fills the air, and for several hours it’s dangerous to breathe.

So, the intensity of the bombardments has clearly increased…

Yes. Attacks on Kyiv have been frequent ever since the full-scale invasion began, but they were more periodic in 2023 and 2024. There were heavy attacks at the very start of the full-scale war, especially in February and March 2022. And now - from the end of May, through June, and into early July - the intensity has risen sharply, both in terms of frequency and volume of missile and drone strikes of all kinds. For example, just counting the drones, if I’m not mistaken, explosions followed one after another over a span of three hours. Then came the missiles. Over those three hours, you hear a drone pass by, then the same drone coming back - you never know what it’s targeting, because it’s right overhead. Then another, and another - the fifth, the tenth, the twentieth, the thirtieth… it’s relentless. Then come the explosions. It’s all extremely intense.

All you can do is pray…

Indeed. This moment drives me to ask everyone for their prayers. I have great trust in the power of prayer. We, who pray may not be worthy of the Lord’s grace, but in this Jubilee Year, entrust ourselves to His mercy. So I invite everyone to pray - even those who feel unworthy, or who believe their prayers aren’t strong. Let’s unite our voices and keep repeating our plea to the Lord: that He may grant us peace. I invite everyone to join in this prayer.