Displaying items by tag: Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a ‘catastrophe for our continent’, said Boris Johnson. He chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on 24 February and gave a televised statement after Russian forces launched an assault on Ukraine, crossing its borders and bombing military targets near big cities. He outlined new sanctions against Russia in the Commons and said on Twitter that he would also speak to his fellow G7 leaders. He called for an urgent meeting of all NATO leaders as soon as possible. In a phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Johnson vowed the West ‘would not stand by as Putin waged his campaign against the Ukrainian people’ and tweeted earlier, ‘Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine.’ Foreign secretary Liz Truss has demanded that the Russian ambassador explain Russia's ‘illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine’.

Every Generation Ministries bring the transformed life Jesus intends for children in Ukraine. Ukraine is home to over six million children and 5,000 evangelical churches. Russia and the West have battled over influence in Ukraine before. After the annexation of Crimea, thousands of children were displaced from their homes to live in fear and uncertainty. The country is in turmoil again and the world is praying for peace. Ask God to invigorate the church to reach out to searching people during this time of tumult. Pray for boys and girls who are experiencing tremendous fear and anxiety during the current unrest and those still recovering from 2014. Ask God to give church leaders wisdom as they navigate the tensions of civilians bearing arms, bombs, and millions fleeing. Christians in the town of Lviv are deploying a shield of prayer and worship. In an upper room African Christians are praying for their host country, ready to be Jesus’ hands and feet to those who must flee. On the other side of Lviv pastors meet, plan and pray the battle for freedom. In separatist areas Christians forbidden from meeting together meet secretly.  Ukraine’s vibrant Jewish community of 200,000 is one of the largest in the world. Many elderly Jews are comfortable with Russians as their neighbours. When their men served in the Soviet army during WWII they couldn’t imagine then that Russia would attack Ukraine. ‘I’m following the news,’ said Vera, a 68-year-old Jewish lady who practises Heseds (generously lovingly helping others). ‘I pray daily to God. I’m trying to cheer up my fellow-seniors.’

Ukraine’s president has said joining NATO would guarantee his country's security. He says it will not be easy, but there is no other path for Ukraine. The UK's defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said Russia will be judged by its actions. ‘We've seen the opposite of some of Russia’s statements. We've seen an increase of troops over the last 48 hours up to 7,000, we've seen a bridge constructed from Belarus into Ukraine - or near Ukraine. At the moment Russia’s troop build-up continues.’ Wallace says NATO is united and is ‘deadly serious on how we're going to face the threat being posed to Ukraine and potentially our security’. Speaking after a meeting of defence ministers, he says it's becoming ‘tragically normal’ for Russia to use ‘malign activity and threats to try and get its way’ and Europe has to respond to that, adding, ‘This is a real challenge to the stability of Europe.’

On 10 February Boris Johnson met the head of the NATO defence alliance in Brussels and then travelled to Poland in support of NATO allies. He warned that the Ukraine-Russia crisis is at its ‘most dangerous moment’ and that war would be an ‘absolute disaster’. Russia is still massing troops on its neighbour's borders and in Belarus. In Moscow Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said that continued ‘aggression’ will lead to ‘severe consequences’, but at the same news conference her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov accused the West of ‘hysteria’. Moscow wants the West to rule out Ukraine ever joining NATO - but Boris Johnson said that every European democracy must retain that right. Johnson warned that the possibility of an invasion ‘remains grim.’

Ukrainians are watching Russian forces mass at their borders, and we pray for all who are frightened and at risk in these dangerous times. We ask You, Father, to hold Ukrainians safely in Your hands and spread your banner of protection over them. Protect them from violence and political gamesmanship, from being used and abused in geopolitics. Give the nations of the world the courage to stand up for justice and dare to show that they care generously. Father, we echo all the intercessions for those families living under the threats of war. May they be granted a calmness of spirit by Your presence. May the diplomatic voices of discernment and peaceful solutions be heard and successfully break the enemy’s hold. Lord, raise up peacemakers on all sides and build trust amongst the diplomats. Give them heaven's wisdom. May the Church in these nations be salt and light in dark situations. 

On 7 February President Macron travelled to Moscow and then to Kyiv, to meet the presidents of Russia and Ukraine and seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis. At the same time, German chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Washington aiming to convince Joe Biden to trust him despite being wishy-washy on Russia. On 10 February Boris Johnson went to Brussels. In the week beginning 14 February, Scholz will meet Vladimir Putin himself. Despite Scholz’s doveish approach to Russia threatening European unity, France, Germany, and the US are still allies. Many believe the scenario of Macron keeping Scholz and Biden out of the loop on his talks with Putin and Zelensky is as unlikely as the German chancellor cutting a deal with Biden behind Macron’s back.

3,000 additional American troops will aid in defending NATO allies in Eastern Europe. A recent satellite image shows Russia has an entire new housing area, established in the past ten days, next to the existing military vehicles in Russia-occupied Crimea. Russia now has 130,000 troops encircling the Ukrainian border, increasing the threat to the region’s stability. The USA said its moves are designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, its troops are not going to fight in Ukr; they are there to ensure the robust defence of NATO allies. A thousand US soldiers will reposition from Germany to Romania in the coming days, adding to the 900 currently there. 2,000 additional troops are being moved from the USA to Europe. The 82nd Airborne Division is deploying an infantry brigade combat team and key enablers to Poland. 8,500 US troops remain ready to move if called.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace will soon be travelling to Moscow to meet Russia's defence minister, but he is lowering expectations of a diplomatic breakthrough. He says there is a chance a Russian invasion could be stopped, but he’s ‘not optimistic’. The UK's response to Russia's military buildup has been more muscular than most. They have supplied Ukraine with 2,000 light anti-tank weapons and troops to help train them. But not all NATO allies are willing to do the same. Germany's new government warned ‘supplying Ukraine with weapons could escalate the conflict’. Instead, Berlin is supplying Ukraine with ‘non-lethal’ field hospitals and 5,000 military helmets. Poland and Latvia have publicly criticised Germany's stance. Wallace hopes that Germany will support tough economic sanctions. After meeting NATO’s secretary general, Mr Wallace said the UK could support NATO by ‘increasing forces on land, sea or air to deter any further Russian aggression’, and could send Ukraine more weapons.

The head of the German navy, Kay-Achim Schönbach, made controversial comments while speaking at a think-tank. On a video later published on social media, he said Putin would not invade Ukraine and needed to be treated as an equal by the West. Also the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, ‘is gone and will never come back’. Ukraine described Mr Schönbach's comments as ‘categorically unacceptable’. He resigned from his role to ‘avert further damage’. Putin wants the West to stop Ukraine joining NATO, and NATO to abandon military exercises and stop sending weapons to eastern Europe, saying these are a direct threat to Russia's security. Several NATO members are sending military equipment or deploying forces to Ukraine. Germany refuses to send weapons, and Ukraine’s foreign minister said this stance encourages Putin to attack.

Opportunities for Christians to engage with unchurched people abound in Ukraine. More than a million people from 30+ unreached people groups call Ukraine home, and some parts of the country remain less than 1% evangelical. Ukraine grows more multicultural every day, as students and immigrants arrive looking for education and opportunity. The country is a fascinating mix of ancient and modern, urban and rural, scientific and intuitive. Lately, long-held passions for political freedom and stability characterise many modern Ukrainians. The evangelical church is developing a vision for reaching unfamiliar communities. SEND Ukraine is the answer to a decade-long vision to send missionaries to work in the harvest field. Believers who have been reached and discipled are now partnering with SEND Ukraine and local churches to share the gospel with the hundreds of unreached people groups which live in diaspora communities within the country.