Overview
- Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher visited Kyiv on Saturday, July 18, praying at St. Nicholas Church and touring bombed residential blocks and memorials to meet victims and local clergy.
- The delegation inspected the May 14 strike on Bratstva Tarasivtsiv Street that killed 24 people and spoke with rescue teams about the daily risks first responders face.
- UNHCR briefers told the envoy that roughly 300 civilians were killed in June alone and that thousands were wounded, a spike the agency called the highest since 2022.
- Gallagher also toured damaged religious heritage including the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, whose Cathedral of the Dormition roof was hit in the June 14–15 attack and has since been repaired.
- Ukrainian church leaders pressed for prayer, forgiveness and reconciliation while warning people are exhausted, and UN figures show about five million in emergency need with aid capacity reaching roughly two million, increasing demand for sustained international relief and long‑term psychosocial care.