Palm Sunday, 13 April, marked yet another horrific chapter in the ongoing war in Ukraine. On what should have been a sacred and peaceful day of worship, tragedy struck the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, turning Palm Sunday into a day of mourning and devastation. Just 50 kilometres from the Russian border, Sumy became the site of a deadly missile strike, as two Russian ballistic missiles landed in the city centre around 10 a.m., right as the faithful were making their way to church. The attack reportedly killed at least 34 people, including children, and injured over 100. The victims, many of whom were preparing to celebrate the beginning of Holy Week, instead found themselves caught in a carnage.
In a brief statement to Vatican News, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, conveyed a sense of helplessness in the face of such senseless violence.  ”There’s nothing left but to turn to the Lord to defend us, because it seems that no other force is capable of protecting peace and life,” he said. The Vatican Nuncio noted that in this moment of shared Christian observance–this year, Easter, according to both main calendars Gregorian and Julian falls on the same date,–the attack becomes even more symbolic, cutting into the heart of a nation already under siege.