Ukraine prays Our Fathers in heaven and for Trump

Zelensky makes the National Prayer Breakfast a global summit for peace, but on the front lines, soldiers die with rosaries in their pockets.

A soldier, whose prosthesis serves as his hand, read a letter to attendees at Ukraine's National Prayer Breakfast.
25/08/2025
4 min

Special Envoy to Kiev"God knows what happens in this war. God will remember what happened in this war.", called an evangelical priest from the United States from the stage. The setting was the second annual National Prayer Breakfast, a peace summit held in Kiev, a city at war. The audience, political, religious, and military representatives from around the world, applauded him from tables laden with food. "God knows that Russia kidnaps Ukrainian children..." the priest shouted.

God must also know that, while the evangelical priest cried out to heaven, Russian drones took advantage of the rain in Pokrovsk, a besieged city in Donbas, to camouflage themselves among the clouds and bomb the few buildings still standing. "I can't give details about today's casualties; I can only tell you that the worst thing for an officer is to see his children die," said Major Bogdan on the phone. Another Ukrainian commander celebrated the fact that his children had killed four enemy soldiers today. God knows that in the Ukrainian trenches people are killing and dying at the pace of World War II..

In Kiev, we were made to pray the Lord's Prayer. We also sang thePrayer for Ukraine, the country's patriotic and spiritual anthem: "Lord, O great and almighty, protect our beloved Ukraine. Bless her with freedom and the light of your holy rays." A minute of silence was then held for the victims of the Russian invasion. Singer Tina Carol, an icon of Ukrainian music, sang live. Already Vilnius (Free): "They told me 'you'll surrender', they told me 'you're weak'. I'm not afraid of these words, because I am free, free, free, free..."

Commander Bogdan also prays on his forehead. "Especially when the shelling is so intense that I can't control my fear." Ukrainian soldiers also pray on their foreheads. Some sSoldiers adorn their uniforms with pictures of saints and rosaries so that heaven will protect them on the battlefield.. Saints and rosaries adorn the coffins of soldiers already resting underground. "My war brother used to pray out loud inside the armored vehicle that was taking us to positions," a Ukrainian soldier fighting toward Donetsk told me on Sunday. His war brother now has no left leg.

Proclamations were piling up in Kiev. The most anticipated speech was that of President Volodymyr Zelensky. "He's about to arrive, go sit at the table," a member of the Ukrainian government told me. Zelensky, dressed in a black shirt, came up on stage. The audience took out their cell phones to film him. Zelensky looked like a rockstar. Zelensky addressed the world: "Today, the battle between good and evil continues. Russia continues to attack us, continues to batter us, continues to destroy us. We have to stop them. And I believe that together we can do it. We have to stop them and achieve a real and lasting peace. This should be the reason for our prayers today."

The second most anticipated speech was that of Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for the war in Ukraine. "Trump is a president of peace; he wants to end the destruction and the many victims. We are working on the peace process, we are working very intensively on these issues." Ukrainians don't trust Trump. Ukrainians have no choice but to put on a brave face. Dozens of soldiers present at the event were made selfies with the representative from Washington. Some later shared them on Instagram. Their future depends on the White House.

Sister Lucia Caram with the President of Ukraine at the National Prayer Breakfast.

Smart casual look

In the hours leading up to the summit, there was uncertainty among the guests. Secrecy and security measures are heightened in a war. At an event scheduled to be attended by Ukraine's political, military, and business elite, even more so. Therefore, we were not informed of the details until Sunday evening: the location, the time, and the guests. Zelensky's involvement had been a mystery until he appeared at the door.

Hours before the start, representatives of the Danish and Irish governments were having a curious conversation. "I don't know if I'm wearing the right suit for the event," one said. "I think I'll be a little wrinkled." They had spent the entire night on the train connecting Ukraine with the rest of the world: commercial airports have been closed since the beginning of the invasion, and getting to Kiev requires at least nine hours on the train. The president's office had recommended a dress code. smart casual, and attendees were encouraged to wear military and traditional dress. Dress has been a vital topic in Kiev for several weeks now: Zelensky's second meeting with Trump is believed to have gone better because the president dispensed with the sweatshirt.The designer of the suit worn by Zelensky has become a celebrity, but in the stores of souvenirs The best-selling item is still the military-green sweatshirt.

The Irish and Danish politicians' conversation continued. It was their first time in Ukraine, and they were worried about having to install the app on their phones that alerts you when the air raid siren sounds. "Do you think it also sounds at night?" Yes, it also sounds at night. In fact, that's when it sounds the most: the Russian army bombs Ukrainian cities, especially at dawn. The impact of psychological warfare is greater at night. It didn't take them long to unveil the light fixture: by midday, the sirens of Kiev were showing them that the war is palpable, despite the festive atmosphere of the National Prayer Breakfast.

At a table was the priest of the church in Butxa, a town on the outskirts of Kiev and the scene of one of the worst massacres of civilians since the start of the invasion. I interviewed him in February 2023. The priest became infamous because, during the Russian occupation, he had to use the grounds behind the church to dig a mass grave to bury the corpses of civilians who were rotting in the streets. Dogs had started eating them.

"How are you, priest?"

"At war. Still at war."

The war will be palpable in Ukraine for some time. God knows.

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