On June 25, 2025, the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) met with the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Oksana Zholnovych. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Social Policy.

Minister Zholnovych presented the key areas of the Ministry’s work and the range of social services funded by the state budget aimed at supporting various segments of the population. She emphasized the opportunity for non-governmental organizations to become providers of social services.

During the meeting, the parties discussed promising areas of cooperation between the Ministry of Social Policy and churches and religious organizations, particularly in addressing humanitarian challenges and providing social support to people during wartime. This includes assistance for families, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. “Social ministry is an integral part of the mission of various churches, which makes the interaction between UCCRO and the Ministry both important and natural for religious communities,” noted UCCRO Chair, Bishop Valerii Antoniuk, in his address.

The discussion also covered several current issues related to the social ministry of religious organizations that require amendments to existing legislation. Both sides outlined next steps to further develop dialogue and cooperation between UCCRO and the Ministry.

The meeting with Minister Oksana Zholnovych was attended by: UCCRO Chair and Head of the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Bishop Valerii Antoniuk; Deputy Head of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Ukraine, Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi; Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, Anatoliy Kozachok; the Head of the Ukrainian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Marcos Hovhannisyan; the Supreme Mufti of Crimea, Ayder Rustamov; as well as authorized representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Ukrainian Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (UUC-SDA), Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine (RAMU), Ukrainian Church of Evangelical Christians (UCEC), Ukrainian Evangelical Church (UEC), Ukrainian Lutheran Church (ULC), German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine (GELCU), Association of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine (AJROU), Ukrainian Bible Society (UBS), and the Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF).