‘These Are Our Spiritual Weapons’

Knights in Ukraine come to the aid of fallen soldiers’ families

By Artur Fedash

July 31, 2025

Knights from Sts. Borys and Hlib Council 17740 in Fastiv, Ukraine, host a Christmas dinner for the widows and children of fallen heroes in December 2024. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the council has supported these grieving families, offering them a sense of community and comfort. (Photo by Andrii Gorb)

As the war grinds on in Ukraine, the country’s troop casualties continue to rise. A recent study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., indicated that as many as 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since February 2022. While Knights of Columbus are among those who have died on the front lines, brother Knights throughout the country have stepped up to serve the families left behind.

From the war’s start, Sts. Borys and Hlib Council 17740 in Fastiv, working with District Deputy Mykhailo Tsiapych and Associate State Chaplain Father Vitalii Martsyniuk, has taken special care of the families of fallen heroes.

“We can hold a widow’s hand, give bread to an orphan, be there for them. These are our spiritual weapons,” said Father Vitalii Martsyniuk.

The council has delivered aid, organized prayers and facilitated participation in STEP-IN — a medical nonprofit based in Slovakia that specializes in responding to humanitarian crises — to provide vital psychological support to women and children who have lost loved ones.

One STEP-IN client, a widow whose husband died as a volunteer soldier in March 2022, received both emotional and practical support thanks to the Knights’ efforts. Her three children, like many others, also benefited from this safe space. Festive dinners organized by Knights for widows created moments of warmth and remembrance.

“At first the mothers were closed off, but with time and the right approach they began to open up,” said Tsiapych. “It brought strength back to them. We wanted to give them something meaningful, not only materially but, above all, spiritually.”

A Simple Hug

Among those who endured profound loss is Anna Karazha, whose husband, Lt. Maksym Shapran of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, was killed while trying to save others in Donetsk region in August 2023.

“It all happened so suddenly. I kept thinking — maybe I’d go to him,” Karazha said. “And then came the call: Maksym was gone. He had been helping evacuate people.”

The first months after her husband’s death were filled with silent pain and a search for meaning, she recalled.

“You see couples walking together, or people with children. At first, I would watch them and cry,” Karazha said. “It was emotionally hard at times. I went to church more often, probably to avoid being at home, maybe hoping to somehow connect with Maksym.”

Knights in Our Lady of Guadalupe Council 17913 in Lviv, based at Karazha’s parish, recognized how the news affected her, recalled Past Grand Knight Viacheslav Olishevskyi, and they looked for ways the council could accompany her. “We had to support her somehow,” Olishevskyi said.

During a gathering organized by the Knights for families who had lost loved ones, Karazha learned about a weekly support group, which she began to attend.

“At first, it was hard to say anything, but over time I would talk to someone, and even just a simple hug — knowing that we understood each other in a certain way — felt like relief,” Karazha said. Later she drew motivation from the love and presence of her parents and friends, and she channeled her grief into a desire to help others.

“I wanted to be useful. Sometimes you feel your own significance when you give something to others,” she recalled. The desire to preserve Maksym’s memory gradually turned into the idea of a book.

“I printed some poems — for myself at first, then for friends. But I put off the idea of publishing them in a book for a long time,” she said. The turning point, she continued, came during a Russian attack on Lviv: “I thought: If I were gone, what is the one thing I would want to leave behind so that I wouldn’t regret it? It was the book.”

The collection, titled Love and Distance, was published with help from Council 17913, and was promoted at parishes, cathedrals and theaters in Lviv, Vynnyky, Khodoriv, Ternopil, Lutsk and other cities in Ukraine. So far, Karazha’s book has generated nearly 127,000 UAH (about $3,000).

Knights from Holy Martyr Josaphat Council 18299 participate in an initiation ceremony of local altar boys at the Greek Catholic Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Holyn, Ukraine, in June. The council serves and strengthens the local parish by assisting the families of fallen soldiers in the community.

Missing, but not Forgotten

The Knights in Ukraine also pay special attention to the families of those missing in action because their grief remains open-ended. One such example came after Yevhenii Kobyl, a member of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Council 17659 in Bar, disappeared on April 25, 2023.

“He always responded to our requests and helped with every program,” said Grand Knight Stepan Antoniuk. “He was a kind man, and when the war started he was one of the first to volunteer.”

Kobyl, who joined the Knights in 2020, was known as a deeply religious man and caring father by his brother Knights. The Kobyl family had been named Council 17659’s Family of the Year, and Kobyl himself was an example of Christian service in both peacetime and in war.

After his disappearance, Kobyl’s family found themselves in a very difficult situation. “Right now, if a man is missing in action, his family receives nothing from the state,” explained Antoniuk. “His wife lost her job and the children study, so we support them as best we can, financially and spiritually.”

Each month the Knights join the Kobyls and families of other missing persons to pray for the safe return of their loved ones. They hold silent vigils in the city, raise awareness with children in youth events and hope to organize a memorial gathering for widows, children and the wider community.

“We pray for him, that God will help him,” said Antoniuk. “No one knows exactly how to pray in such a case. It is a very difficult wait; years can go by, children grow up, and nothing changes.”

The Knights also offer psychological support in a particularly delicate manner to the families of missing persons, Antoniuk said. “We have a professional psychologist; we work through the priest first and then the specialist. We visit them, drink tea, talk, include them in parish events. This is our support — small things, but constant.”

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ARTUR FEDASH writes from Lviv, Ukraine.