The exchange of prisoners has taken place. For dozens of people, a real nightmare of prisons and camps has come to an end. Their families will keep celebrating this day for a long time as an important event in their life, as one of the most joyful days. After all, real human destinies, real people, their feelings and sufferings are behind the exchange process.

With this exchange of prisoners, a process of normalization of relations between Ukraine and Russia begins. The Orthodox Church has played an important role in these processes and in the restoration of peace. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy have taken great efforts to make today's exchange happen, and the capacity of the Church is not confined only to this.

I congratulate all those who have gained their long-awaited freedom today! This is a very important, very tangible step towards a real peace, which, I am sure, will soon come to the Ukrainian land, and relations between Ukraine and Russia will again become good neighbourly and fraternal relations, as they used to be throughout our history.

On the first working day of the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation, the rights of seven legitimately and duly elected MPs from the Opposition Bloc were violated. Well in advance and in line with a prescribed procedure, a group of seven MPs from the Opposition Bloc submitted their applications to the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada regarding their membership in parliamentary committees. These applications were reflected in the working materials of the preparatory group of MPs. The personal composition of the committees was preliminary approved by this group at a meeting attended by representatives of all the political parties, which was reflected in the Draft Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada submitted by the preparatory group before the first working day of the Verkhovna Rada of the new convocation. However, later the names of the Opposition Bloc MPs were excluded from the Draft Resolution put to the vote in the session room of the Parliament, without prior coordination with them. The MPs’ right to work in the Verkhovna Rada committees, which is guaranteed by the Laws of Ukraine "On the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine", "On the Status of People's Deputy of Ukraine" and "On Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine", was grossly violated. In addition, most importantly, the constitutional right of voters to have representatives in the supreme legislative body was flagrantly breached for those voters who delegated their power to the people's deputies from the Opposition Bloc.

Dear friends!

I wholeheartedly congratulate you on the feast of the Holy Assumption of the Mother of God!

Virgin Mary was the Most Holy Temple, in which the Holy Spirit dwell. The Son of God received human nature in Her. It would seem, what is the reason to celebrate and rejoice that the Mother of God left this world? 

Yet, the fact of the matter is that She did not die as ordinary people die. Her death was not death, but a blissful assumption – the transition to eternal life. The Lord Himself came to take her soul, and the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary was ascended to heaven. On that day, we did not lose Her, but found Her at the Throne of God, the most powerful defender.

Since the first days of the Baptism of our people, the Most Holy Mother of God has been especially revered in our land. The heart of our Orthodoxy – the Holy Assumption Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – is revered by Christians around the world as one of the abodes of the Holy Mother.

Other shrines of Ukraine – Pochayiv and Svyatogorsk Lavras, many monasteries and churches throughout Ukraine are also dedicated to the Assumption of the Mother of God. Our ancestors believed in Her intercession and protection, and always turned to Her for help in the most difficult moments of life. She never left anybody without consolation and help.

Happy Miner's Day!

Today, Ukraine celebrates a professional holiday – the Miner's Day, the day of those who represent one of the most difficult, dangerous and, at the same time, one of the most respected professions. Thanks to miners' labour, steel-making works and thermal power plants keep operating, the country's economy is getting stronger and the comfort of citizens is ensured. I want to convey my most cordial congratulations to miners of Chervonograd and Novovolynsk, Vatutino and Pavlograd, as well as the entire Donbass – a huge coal region divided today by the war and dirty political games.

Today, we also celebrate the 150^th anniversary since the founding of Donetsk city, the heart of the Ukrainian Donbass.

Dear Donetsk residents!

This is a double holiday for you, as the history of Donetsk's development is inextricably linked with coal mining. Today, we are separated by the front line, checkpoints, human tragedies, crimes of politicians, and interests of external forces. Yet, we have a lot that unites us: our common history, family ties and friendship, Orthodox values and traditions. I believe that the war will end soon, and we will take joint efforts to heal the wounds, to learn to trust and believe each other again.

Dear friends!

I congratulate you on the Independence Day of Ukraine, the birthday of Ukrainian statehood. Let our state regain its true independence, lost in recent years, and let it become reputable and influential.

In 1991, the founding fathers of the state saw Ukraine as a country where the development of all languages and cultures, equal rights of all citizens, of all faiths would be guaranteed. Unfortunately, 28 years later, attempts were made to replace their words and thoughts with hundred years old nationalist constructs. Independence has become a decoration, and the future of Ukraine is being decided without its participation by the so-called "strategic partners." However, the citizens of Ukraine understand that we have our own interests and goals: we need peace in the Donbass, peace with our neighbours, peace inside the country.

Ukraine will necessarily be united and revived with our Orthodox values, mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual help. I wish you, my dear compatriots, faith in Ukraine and its bright future, love, peace and, most importantly, wisdom.

Happy Holiday!

Two thousand years ago, Christ revealed His divine essence to humankind through the miracle of the Transfiguration. The light of Christ shone then on the Mount Tabor, and today it shines the same way as it shone then. It shines in the heart of every Christian believer.

The Transfiguration is the pathway that Christ commanded each of us to go. A human being is transformed or transfigured by the word of the Lord, from prayer to God, from inner communication with Him, from that bright grace that visits praying hearts.

The light of the Transfiguration of Christ never fades in the hearts of those who sincerely love Christ, who follow Him, who live according to His commandments. And let no darkness and enmity shadow it in our souls.

Congratulations, dear Orthodox Christians!

Peace, light and love to all of us!

Today marks five years since the day when His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine stood at the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

This event has truly historical significance for the fate of the canonical Orthodox Church and the entire Ukrainian people.

The election of the high priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church coincided with the difficult trials that befell our country. War and turmoil, attempts to draw the Church into political confrontations, gross interference of politicians in the affairs of the Church, artificial heating of the church schism and the beginning of persecution against canonical Orthodoxy ...

His Beatitude Onufry in this situation acted as a true peacemaker, not succumbing to temptations and passions and not taking the side of one or another force in a civil conflict. For five years, he has been tirelessly praying for peace and, by personal example, calls on the citizens of Ukraine to the most important thing - reconciliation and love, and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church that he leads continues to carry out its saving peacekeeping mission in all the territories of now divided Ukraine, thereby invisibly preserving and her unity.

I want to express deep gratitude to him for everything that he does for all of us - the multimillion flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, each time "laying down his soul for his sheep."

Today steel-makers of Mariupol have a holiday. 86 years ago, on 12 August 1933, blast furnace No. 1 of Azovstal Iron & Steel Works gave the first cast iron to the country. This day can rightfully be considered as the birthday of Azovstal Works, one of the flagships of Ukrainian industry.

I sincerely congratulate employees of Azovstal and all Mariupol residents on this date. I wish you that the noble profession of a metallurgist always enjoys people's love and respect. May your labour find its worthy appreciation in society, so that the fruits of your labour would strengthen the economy of Ukraine and contribute to its reputation in the world. So that you and your children could confidently look into the future that you are building, in spite of any difficulties, demonstrating real responsibility for the prosperity of our country. I wish you peace, luck, good health and simple human happiness! All the best!

Happy Birthday to Azovstal, dear Mariupol residents!

I am often asked what is the difference between our political force, the OPPOSITION BLOC Party, and the Opposition Platform – For Life Party (OPFL).

I can understand people, because OPFL actively exploits the branding and the rhetoric of the OPPOSITION BLOC, using leading television channels, which belong to the same OPFL, for their propaganda.

OPFL was created by people who actively played up to Petro Poroshenko during his entire period in power and visited his office on Bankova Street more often than their own office. They helped bring Poroshenko to the second round of the recent presidential election. These people were expelled from the OPPOSITION BLOC faction in the parliament, because their unsound ambitions went against the party and the people who voted for the OPPOSITION BLOC in 2014.

Now, the list of OPFL’s members comprises 11 people from Poroshenko's entourage. Their list includes Ilya Kiva, who in 2014-2016 called for the killing of the Donbas residents, and who now is in the party that is supposed to represent the interests of the southeast. The list of OPFL just looks like crossing a grass snake with a hedgehog. Just a while ago, politicians who are now next to each other in the list were slinging mud at each other without any hesitation. After getting seats in the Parliament, this party will immediately split into groups of interests, and they are unlikely to think about the interests of their voters.

Today in Odesa, together with the city mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, MP Sergey Kivalov, members of the Opposition Bloc factions in local councils of Odesa region, as well as our like-minded supporters, and believers of Odesa city and the region, we walked in the Sacred Procession on the day of memory of the Holy, Glorious and All-praised Leaders of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, and the celebration of the miraculous Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God – the Heavenly Patron of the Black Sea region.

About 5,000 people took part in the procession with the miraculous Kasperovskaya Icon of the Queen of Heaven. The procession went from the Holy Assumption Cathedral in Preobrazhenskaya Street to the Transfiguration Cathedral in the Cathedral Square. The festive Divine Liturgy in the Holy Assumption Cathedral of Odesa was performed by His Eminence Agathangel, Metropolitan of Odesa and Izmail. A festive prayer service was held on the square in front of the cathedral, during which the clergy and believers offered up prayers for peace in Ukraine and the prosperity of Odesa.

May the wonderworking image of the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God protect Odesa and all of Ukraine the same way as it saved the city from the enemy troops in 1854, in the Crimean War! We pray for peace in our country.

Today we met with representatives of Mirnyi self-organization committee of residents. I call residents’ self-organization committees as population rescue committees, because they were created when tenants were left to fend for themselves, and now, thanks to their own efforts, responsibility, and initiative, they have taken the quality of their life into their own hands.

The result of such management is very worthy. Now a new team has come to power in Mariupol, having new management methods, as a result such a link has appeared: between a residents’ self-organization committee and a deputy of the city council assigned to each self-organization committee of tenants. Thanks to this, among other things, they managed to balance the budget, to optimize expenses and make the municipal expenses transparent so that Mariupol residents could see on what the money is spent.

Mariupol residents need to unite and resolve their common problems through joint efforts.

In our time, it is extremely important to revive family values and the continuity of generations.  This was discussed on 3 July at the holiday on the occasion of the 65^thanniversary of a residential building at the meeting of Mashinostroitel self-organization committee of the population (condominium).

On the occasion of the celebration, a concert was held in the courtyard of the building, where all tenants gathered – from young to old ones. It was really warm and cosy there. I really felt like home. I grew up in a similar courtyard. I remember how parents and neighbours got together, played dominoes, chess, talked and sang songs. It feels as if I have returned to my childhood.

65 years from the date of building a house is a good milestone! Such good occasions are needed as they unite people. It is important that older people communicate with young people, pass over their experience and their life values. Nothing can replace the warmth of human communication. The guarantee for prosperity and successful community life lies in close connection between self-organization committees (condominiums), city authorities and deputies of local councils.

Today, during the Trust the Deeds Forum of the United Opposition Forces, its delegates agreed that achieving peace solely through political and diplomatic means is a priority task of the Opposition Bloc.

For five years now, Ukraine has been in a state of war that claimed lives of more than 10 thousand people. About two million citizens became refugees. The infrastructure was destroyed. Yet, this is half the trouble as it can be restored, but you will never return those who died. Therefore, it is very important to stop the civil conflict in the southeast.

Seventy-five percent of Ukrainians want peace to be achieved through political and diplomatic ways. Unfortunately, the previous authorities were blind and deaf. They signed the Minsk Agreements with one hand and the laws that made their implementation difficult – with the other hand. We intend to seek peace solely through peaceful, diplomatic means. No military action, no war until final victory – this cannot happen. Full implementation of the Minsk Agreements is the way to peace!

Today, during Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inaugural speech, our faction welcomed his statement that the main task was to establish a firm peace and exchange prisoners. And for this he is ready for unpopular steps. If the president really follows this path, and not just imitates it, as his predecessor did, the Opposition Bloc will fully support the head of state. To that end, it is necessary to engage in direct dialogue with DPR, LPR and Moscow, which the Opposition Bloc has been calling for for five years now. Compromise is a sign of wisdom, and it should and can be achieved on the basis of our national interests.

We will insist that the package of draft laws on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements be considered by the parliament in the near future. The Opposition Bloc has developed 11 bills – on amnesty, on the integration of the Donbas, on the resumption of social security for residents of the region and others.

Five years that have passed since the tragic events of May 2, 2014 in Odesa, finally believed the relatives of the victims of the Odesa tragedy in the inhumanity of the current Ukrainian authorities. Families of those killed in the House of Trade Unions are completely deprived of social support from the state. Moreover, all five years, Odesa residents, with the labels of “traitors to the Motherland”, which were previously attached to them by the current authorities without a trial, have been kept in remand prisons of Odesa, Mykolayiv and Kherson without convictions.

At a regular meeting with the relatives of the victims, the MP of the VII convocation, Svitlana Fabrykant, and the OPPOSITION BLOC team of Odesa Oblast handed over certificates to the families on the rehabilitation of children and outlined ways to help those whose loved ones are held in custody until the end of the investigation. Support was provided by the leader of the OPPOSITION BLOC parliamentary faction Vadym Novynskyi and his International Charitable Foundation in honor of the Protection of the Holy Virgin. The results of several meetings with relatives of the victims on May 2 were summed up by Svitlana Fabrykant, a member of the Vadym Novynsky team.

On 2 May 2014, Odesa saw a disaster that resulted in more than 250 victims, including 48 dead. During 5 years since then, the authorities have failed, and to be more correct, they did not want to find and punish either the perpetrators of this crime or its instigators. So far, the investigation has not given a single intelligible and honest answer.

I believe that such an obvious foot-dragging in the investigation process points to the likely organizers of the massacre. We said this earlier and we are saying it now: in our opinion, those responsible need to be looked for among the ranks of the outgoing authorities.

We hope that with the change of the authorities, Ukrainians will be able to feel safe again in their own country, and crimes of the authorities, which led the country in 2014-2019, will be investigated and those guilty ones will be punished.

Our political force will make every effort so that the memory of the victims is not forgotten, that their family members and friends receive worthy support, protection and respect, and most importantly – that justice triumphs, and all those guilty are given the deserved punishment. Moreover, a real and not fabricated truth about the 2^nd of May tragedy ought to become known to the general public and generally recognized both in Ukraine and in the world.

For the first time since 2014, which is since the beginning of hostilities in the east of Ukraine, the Holy Fire, brought to Kyiv from Jerusalem, was handed over to Donetsk. This is a signal to our brothers and compatriots staying in the territory not controlled by Kyiv: we remain united, no matter how they try to separate us. For people on the other side of the delimitation line, this is a chance to have a sense of inclusiveness and belonging to the great Feast, to feel unity with their brothers within the ambit of a single Church.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church plays an important role in the process of uniting the country. The Donetsk and Mariupol Diocese remains united despite the ongoing hostilities in the Donbas. Yet, the real unification of the country should begin with spiritual unity. Such steps can give much more to achieve peace than statements by politicians practicing in eloquence instead of taking concrete actions.

The news of the Resurrection of Christ and the accompanying miracles bring peace and love, uniting believers, rather than deepening enmity between the citizens of one state. The process of overcoming confrontation and the path to Peace begin with such particular steps.

It seems that the parliamentary majority’s MPs still have not learned the lessons of Petro Poroshenko’s defeat in the elections. In the first place, Ukrainian people voted against attempts to impose the ideology of cave nationalism on society at the state level, including a forced use of one language, one worldview and one behaviour pattern.

The language law that was put to vote today will only split Ukraine, rather than uniting it. It plants a time bomb under the unstable Ukrainian society as it is. Moreover, this law can further expand the gap between parts of Ukraine, not to mention the Donbas and the Crimea, which are not controlled by the Ukrainian government now. It seems that some MPs have forgotten that "those who live in a glass house should not throw stones."