Displaying items by tag: Ukraine

Thursday, 05 January 2023 21:30

Ukraine: dance of defiance

Dressed in the colours of Ukraine, Vladyslav Bondar, a ballet dancer, moves delicately across the stage of Rotterdam's mediaeval St Lawrence Church. He is performing with the United Ukrainian Ballet at a Salvation Army Christmas party - a setting far removed from the war in his homeland. ‘I wanted to fight for Ukraine.’ Vladyslav said after the performance, knowing it could have meant the end of his career as a professional dancer. But instead of taking up arms, he joined over 70 other Ukrainians who make up the United Ukrainian Ballet - a dance company formed directly in response to the outbreak of war. Fellow dancer Oleksii Kniazkov said, ‘Every Ukrainian has his own battlefield. And the stage is ours.’ Their dance is a dance of defiance.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 08 December 2022 21:15

Ukraine: archbishop’s visit

The Archbishop of Canterbury visited Bucha and saw evidence of atrocities and civilian killings by Russian troops, as millions of people remain without power or heating after attacks on Ukraine's power grid. The most senior cleric in the Church of England was highlighting the need for support for Ukraine ahead of a tough winter. ‘I am clear that Putin chose to start the war and release the evil that comes from that’, he said. It is proper to support a ‘victim nation’ that is ‘being overrun by aggression’. Stating that the international community had a ‘duty of care’ to protect weaker nations, he said that the consequences of letting Ukraine down would be ‘infinitely worse’ than carrying on the support for Kyiv. ‘It would be more expensive and politically catastrophic because it would prove that Putin was right when he thought the West would not stand together for long enough for this to end justly and fairly.’

Published in Europe
Thursday, 08 December 2022 21:13

Ukraine: ban on Orthodox Church

In a stunning announcement, President Zelenskiy said he intends to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Ukraine. His decision came on the heels of an investigation into the church's ties with ‘the Patriarchate in Russia.’ Ukraine will also ban the activities of any religious organisation affiliated with ‘centres of influence’ within Russia. `We will ensure for our state the fullness of independence - in particular, spiritual independence. We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul’, Zelensky said. Orthodox Christians are the largest demographic in Ukraine. There have been some internal disagreements about who they support in the war between Ukraine and Russia, and Zelensky fears Russia may be using the church to plant agents in the church to undermine Ukraine’s war effort. The majority of Orthodox leaders have announced their support for Ukraine, and Ukraine’s Orthodox Church announced its full independence from Moscow’s Patriarchate. It does not support Russia’s invasion.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 01 December 2022 21:23

‘Turning point’ prayers

In light of the Russian attack on Ukraine, many politicians have spoken of a turning point in history. ‘Rarely does evil show its face so openly,’ said one daily newspaper. Our society has largely ceased to reckon with the reality of evil, so how do we confront it? Do we allow ourselves to be infected with negative thoughts and feelings, even hatred? A Ukrainian brother’s prayer can guide us to real prayer. He prayed that, despite the brutal war, hearts would not harden but remain soft. May the Holy Spirit transform all stony hearts. The Conference on the Future of Europe has presented its final report, containing 49 proposals about Europe’s future. In the entire text of 336 pages the words ‘religion’, ‘faith’, and ‘church’ are not mentioned. Faith having a significance in the future of Europe is no longer considered.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 24 November 2022 21:21

Ukraine: gospel workers

In under two weeks, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became a full-fledged humanitarian crisis. The turmoil is affecting gospel workers in Ukraine and throughout the region in significant ways. The Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) reports a sense of excitement. Kherson, a very important city to Ukrainians, is now accessible. Battlefields are constantly changing, with villages and cities burned to the ground. People are hiding in their basements: drones, missiles, and rockets are attacking their infrastructure, and they are bracing for a terrible winter. A new SGA initiative, Heat and Hope, will provide heating, blankets, and food to Ukrainians. They work through over 240 local churches across the embattled regions. They will not only be centres of warmth when all else has been destroyed, but centres of hope. In the middle of a bitter cold winter, these churches are proclaiming the hope and love of Jesus.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 17 November 2022 21:18

Ukraine / Russia: grain Initiative

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major exporter of grain, led to the blocking of all grain shipments until an agreement called the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in Istanbul between Ukraine, Russia and the UN. This agreement will expire on 19 November unless renewed. Renewal negotiations were being facilitated by the UN throughout October until the 29th, when a drone attack on Russian naval ships prompted Russia to suspend participation. Talks resumed on 2 November, with hopes to extend the agreement for a year. On 17 November Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure said the initiative would be prolonged, but only for 120 days.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 10 November 2022 21:53

Ukraine: Russia withdrawing from Kherson

Russia has ordered its military to pull out of Kherson, the only regional capital it has captured since invading Ukraine. Russia will entirely leave the western bank of Dnipro River, saying it wasn’t possible to continue supplying the city. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is moving ‘very carefully’ in response to the announcement, fearing a Russian trap.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 10 November 2022 21:47

Ukraine: survivors’ agony as mass graves found

1,500+ new graves have been dug at a mass burial site near Mariupol in Ukraine. Over 4,600 graves have been dug there since the beginning of the war. Officials believe at least 25,000 people were killed in fighting there, and 5,000-7,000 died after their homes were bombed. Witnesses have seen Russian authorities removing bodies from destroyed buildings and taking them away for burial, over 1,500 according to new satellite images. From the start of the war Mariupol, a strategic target, was pounded relentlessly from the air and from the ground. Pray for the thousands of survivors who have now escaped the city, but do not know where their families’ bodies are. Pray for those unable to get that information, and pray for those who suspect their loved ones are still buried beneath the rubble of their houses.

Published in Europe
Friday, 04 November 2022 04:10

Ukraine: Situation report

Fighting and shelling continues in eastern and southern Ukraine, and strikes in other areas have caused additional destruction of civilian infrastructure and a large number of civilian deaths and injuries. The civilian toll has reached 14,000 confirmed deaths since the beginning of the war. Nearly 18 million people (40% of Ukraine’s population) need humanitarian assistance, and the situation is expected to deteriorate further in the winter months. As villages and towns are being liberated from Russian occupation in Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, significant needs remain - and the Ukrainian advances may halt with the arrival of winter. Many communities still lack access to clean water, electricity, and mobile phone service. Many have limited food supplies. The clean-up and rebuilding effort will take some time. Pray for: The church and ministry networks across Ukraine and neighbouring countries who are mobilising to bring food, clothing, first aid and medicine; evacuation and temporary accommodation assistance; psychological and spiritual support; rebuilding damaged properties and preparing for winter.

Published in Europe

Russians are closing evangelical Protestant churches claiming ‘only one faith would be tolerated - Orthodoxy’. They raided Grace Baptist Church while a worship service was being broadcast live. Viewers watched online while they halted the service, registered the names of all present, detained several ministers, and gave the pastor 48 hours to leave the city. They closed Melitopol’s largest Protestant charismatic church with a 1,000-seat auditorium. They tore down its cross and turned the building into a ‘cultural sports entertainment complex’. They are doing the same as they did when they seized and annexed Crimea: they raided places of worship, closed churches, banned missionary activity, fined people for leading worship meetings, seized religious literature, and forced religious communities to re-register with the state, refusing re-registration to the majority. Christians were also driven to the underground churches in the Soviet era, surviving seventy years of Soviet totalitarian rule - demonstrating that persecution can often strengthen the Church.

Published in Europe