Fr Taras is no stranger to conflict, he grew up in Ukraine when it was run by the Soviet Union and it wasn’t possible to be a practising Catholic. Fr Taras was baptised in an underground Church and wasn’t taught anything about religion by his parents so he wouldn’t say anything about it at school. He then discovered his faith at the end of the Soviet Union.

Fr Taras is a priest at the parish of St Oswald and St Sebastian, involved in pastoral care of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church in the UK as well as being a  lecturer in theology at Liverpool Hope University and chaplain at St Edward’s College.

He said: “The past 12 months has been a distressing and a very worrying time.

“When the situation in Ukraine got more intense back in February I was away at a retreat and I was getting lots of phone calls and messages from parishes in Ukraine requiring support.

“I started organising lots of meetings and I liaised with charities here and in Poland as the Ukrainian border was closed. Little by little I was establishing contacts and procedures of how to act in different situations and establishing the best way to support Ukrainians. And of course, there was lots of praying involved.

“Over the past year, the hardest thing pastorally is having to deal with so many people who are distressed as they are so worried about family members over there. Many people have had to leave their sons and husbands who have remained in Ukraine.

“They need quite a lot of support and we have been organising social meetings outside of the church to establish a strong community bond. I can very much relate to this as my parents are still in Ukraine. I call them everyday to make sure they are ok.”

Since the war broke, Fr Taras has also been involved in the Big Help Project, a Liverpool based charity who have been supporting Ukrainian refugees now living in the local community.

He added: “The Big Help Project has been a huge help to Ukrainians. I go there every week for their foodie Friday event, where Ukrainians get together to have lunch. It is a great support group for them, it’s a safe space where they can talk about any issues and there is a foodbank there to help them with supplies.”

Despite being a tough year, it has brought some positive opportunities, “I met Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex at the opening of the Ken Dodd Happiness Hall in Knotty Ash. As a representative of Ukraine, they expressed their concern to me. I was also involved in Liverpool’s bid as a host for the Eurovision Song Contest. I was delighted that the city won as they want to feature Ukrainians as much as possible in the event, the city is very much in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”

Looking ahead to the future, Fr Taras has a positive outlook. He said: “There is more positive news coming from the front line and thanks to the help of our international friends, Ukraine is making progress.

“I believe that through prayer and continued support, Ukraine will recover their territory and that peace will be restored. After we reemerge from the war, our people will be stronger.”

Fr Taras had very poignant closing remarks about the past year adding: “In Ukraine, there is a saying that you will recognise a real friend in time of trouble – this past year has made me realise that I have so many real friends here. People, especially those in Liverpool, have offered a lot, they have been simply amazing.”