EBF CommunicationsUkraine: Situation Report
The report is produced by EBF Communications in collaboration with Baptist partners.
Ukraine: Situation Report 6 (As of 11:30 (CET), 1 April 2022)
Situation Overview
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports 3,090 civilian casualties, including 1,189 killed, as of 29 March.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that almost 10.5 million people have been forcibly displaced within Ukraine and neighbouring countries since 24 February. According to the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), more than 4.05 million people have fled Ukraine; the vast majority of these are women, children and the elderly. There are more than 2.3 million refugees in Poland alone, along with more than 616,000 in Romania, more than 388,000 in Moldova and more than 368,000 in Hungary.
Updates from Baptists in Ukraine
For several days, the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine has been cut off from the rest of the country. On March 23, Russian troops bombed a bridge in the city that was an important humanitarian corridor. Access to aid is difficult and it is impossible to leave the city. However, local Christians are finding alternative means of transport, such as boats, to take food into Chernihiv.
The city of Mariupol continues to experience a humanitarian catastrophe, with constant shelling and blocks to humanitarian aid. According to the city’s mayor, there are more than 100,000 civilians waiting to be evacuated. Bethany Baptist Church in the city was recently bombed.
Despite the brutal conflict, believers in Ukraine continue to meet together to pray, worship and read the Bible. Churches across the country are working together to provide accommodation, food, clothing, medicine and transport.
The shelves of most shops and supermarkets in Sumy, north-eastern Ukraine, are now empty. However, churches in other areas of Ukraine and abroad are sending food into the city every day, and local Christians help distribute it to those in need.
Baptist churches in the Cherkasy region are delivering food to badly hit areas. On the way back, drivers take people out of the war zone, and a team of volunteers help them travel to other European countries.
A youth leader and evangelist from a church in Mykolaiv has started a ministry to local soldiers. Every morning he takes tea and small gifts to encourage troops at 15 checkpoints. The soldiers willingly agreed for him to pray with them and asked him to continue his visits.
There are currently 18,000 displaced children in the Chernivtsi region. Children from local Christian families are donating their toys to help them settle into their new surroundings.
One church in Rivne, western Ukraine, is finding multiple creative ways to serve those in need. One very practical ministry they have developed is a free car repair service. And they provide pastoral care to those they are supporting. The church’s pastor says, “People are open to the Word of God.”
The Coordination Centre of the Ukrainian Baptists says, “Such stories of pastors encourage [us] not to slow down in our common ministry. Their testimonies on the phone [are given] in a lively, cheerful voice, full of enthusiasm.”
Baptist Response in Neighbouring Countries
Across the Region — Baptists have the capacity to serve up to 51,000 beds per day for those who have been displaced because of the conflict. In addition to 45,000 beds per day in Ukraine itself, there are an estimated 4,000 beds available for Ukrainian refugees in Romania; 1,600 beds in Poland; and 700 beds in Moldova. Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova all continue to respond to the crisis on an incredible scale, providing food, clothing, medicine and transport.
Hungary — Hungarian Baptists continue to serve those who are displaced including Roma people who fled Ukraine. Many churches and other organisations turned Roma people away as they fled the border, but the Hungarian Baptists are serving those in need, regardless of background.
Romania — The Ruth Refugee Centre in Bucharest continues to offer Ukrainians safe, welcoming accommodation and help with their next steps. The organisers write, “When the Ruth Refugee Centre was established nearly a month ago, the vision was to provide a safe place for guests from Ukraine to sleep, launder their clothing, eat three meals a day, and receive support in resolving various problems with their embassy in Bucharest. After hosting guests for two weeks, it became apparent that for some families a quick transit was not an option. Over the past week and a half, the two apartments in the Ruth School have been renovated and furnished to host two or three families for longer periods of time. With these new facilities, our Ruth Refugee Centre can now host up to 65 guests per night!”
Across the EBF — Baptists in Spain, Portugal, the UK, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Bulgaria, Italy and many other contexts have given generously and are housing refugees with church families.
Please see past reports for how other Baptist Unions are responding. If your Union is responding to the crisis, please let us know so that we can include your response in future updates.
EBF Response
EBF is gathering weekly on Wednesday during the month of March to pray for the situation. In our fifth gathering on 30 March, Igor Bandura from Ukraine shared updates and asked for prayer: protection for refugees from traffickers, safety for those in bombarded cities, hope for the future, and comfort for families separated by the war.
Ukraine: Situation Report 5 (As of 13:00 CET, 24 March 2022)
Situation Overview
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports at least 2,571 civilian casualties, including 977 killed, as of 22 March. However, the actual figures are probably much higher, as there is limited access to verify them in the worst-hit areas.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that more than 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since 24 February. The vast majority of these people are women, children and the elderly. This figure includes more than 2.1 million refugees in Poland alone, along with more than 563,000 in Romania, more than 374,000 in Moldova and more than 330,000 in Hungary.
The BBC reported that there had been a missile strike outside of Lviv that has many concerned of conflict encroaching westward. The Ukrainian Baptist Union is currently based in Lviv.
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) issued a statement urging the international community to do “everything in their power to end the current war that is destroying lives and causing untold suffering.”
The European Freedom Network has reported that human trafficking is a huge concern at the borders with some cases of traffickers posing as pastors.
Updates from Baptists in Ukraine
The conflict continues to be most brutal in eastern Ukraine, where constant shelling has destroyed vast amounts of infrastructure. Many believers are driving regularly to Kharkiv, taking aid in and bringing back people fleeing the bombing.
Almost all of the Kherson region is under temporary Russian occupation; it is impossible to leave. Local churches continue to meet for worship and prayer, and to organise help for as many people as possible. They are providing meals, distributing bread and finding homes for those injured. Believers from one church are taking care of children from the regional orphanage.
Several towns in the Donetsk region are also under temporary occupation. The port city of Mariupol is under constant siege, and conditions are dire. Baptist ministers in this region are delivering humanitarian aid and using any possible opportunity to help people escape. Believers in one city are baking and distributing bread, helping to save people from starvation. Christians report that “people are searching for God in times of trouble.”
A number of towns in the Sumy region remain under occupation and have been heavily bombed. Churches are providing shelter during air raids, and in quieter times their members are visiting those who are elderly or ill. Christians have helped several hundred residents to evacuate.
Hundreds of churches across Ukraine are serving as centres of welcome and refuge for those fleeing. In the Cherkasy region, more than a thousand displaced people are housed safely in church buildings every night. In Lviv, one local church held a baby shower for three mothers-to-be who had fled the fighting, bringing hope in the midst of suffering.
Baptist Response in Neighbouring Countries
Romania — Churches and believers across the country are providing accommodation and a warm welcome for people fleeing Ukraine. They are working with local authorities to help long-term refugees find work, arrange schooling and integrate into society. Christians in Bucharest have set up the Ruth Refugee Centre, which has provided 106 Ukrainians with a safe place to sleep since the start of March. The centre has a fully equipped kitchen, a cafeteria, laundry facilities, a room for children’s activities, and access to computers so refugees can prepare their paperwork. Volunteers are on hand to provide whatever support is needed. One refugee commented, “I have never met people like you in my life.”
Other Neighbouring Countries — Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova all continue to respond to the crisis on an incredible scale, housing refugees, transporting those in need and giving out food, clothing and medicine.
Croatia — Although the country does not share a border with Ukraine, the Baptist Union in Croatia has organised two shipments of aid to Ukraine and provided transport for refugees wishing to come to Croatia. They have set up three transit centres for refugees, and a number of believers have offered beds in their homes to those fleeing.
Lithuania — The Baptist Union in Lithuania is organising a financial gift from its churches for EBF’s work in Ukraine. Some refugees have already arrived in the country, and more are expected. Lithuanian Baptists are exploring with local authorities how best to support them.
Across the EBF — EBF has heard similar updates to Lithuania from across the EBF region. Baptists in Spain, Portugal, the UK, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Bulgaria, Italy, Scotland and others have given and are working to house refugees with church families.
Please see past reports for how other Baptist Unions are responding. If your union is responding to the crisis, please let us know so that we can include your response in future updates.
EBF Response
EBF is gathering weekly on Wednesday during the month of March to pray for the situation. In our fourth gathering on 23 March, Ion Miron from Moldova shared updates and asked for prayer: For peace in the region, for strength for volunteers and pastors and for a revival among refugees and locals during this time.The next prayer gathering will be on 30 March (19:00 CET / 18:00 GMT). Registration is here (if you have already registered, you do not need to register again).
Ukraine: Situation Report 4 (As of 13:00 CET, 17 March 2022)
Situation Overview
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports at least 1,834 civilian casualties, including 691 killed as of 15 March. Of the number killed, 48 were children and at least 99 were women.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that almost 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since 24 February, including more than 1.8 million people in Poland alone, along with over 270,000 in Hungary, over 220,000 in Slovakia and almost 470,000 in Romania.
Updates from Baptists in Ukraine
A brother from Mariupol writes: “The city is simply wiped off the face of the earth. It is completely destroyed. There is no electricity, all the wires are on the ground. There is no gas, as the gas pipeline is blown up. We have a well in the church, but there is salty water in it, so we drink this salty water and salty tea. There are lots of people in the streets, they are hungry.”
Humanitarian aid has been sent from Lviv to Kharkiv, Buzivka, Slovyansk, Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Vasylkiv. This mainly took the form of clothes, hygiene products, medicines and food. Humanitarian corridors are open and Baptists are able to transport goods into the country from different neighbouring countries.
The situation is direr in cities in the east and north that face constant shelling, including civilian buildings. Drivers go back and forth between conflict areas, bringing aid from the west and people fleeing back with them to the east.
Many people leaving Kharkiv in the north are making their way to Poltava, 140 km away. All five churches in Poltava are receiving large amounts of refugees every day and churches are staying open 24 hours a day to receive them. Hundreds of internally displaced persons are staying in church buildings, believers’ homes and any building that can be converted into shelters.
Baptist Response in Neighbouring Countries
Czech Republic — While the Czech Republic does not share a border with Ukraine, the Baptist Union in the Czech Republic is sending financial aid to the Ukrainian Baptist Union and to local churches in Ukraine, as well as helping transport people from the Slovakia-Ukraine border to the Czech Republic. As of 11 March, there are 200,000 refugees from Ukraine in the Czech Republic, and churches are offering food, accommodation and general aid. Russian-speaking churches are on the frontline of support, offering counselling, prayer and spiritual encouragement to those in need.
Hungary — There are ten Hungarian congregations within Ukraine near the Hungary-Ukraine border who are supporting tens of thousands of internally displaced people, mostly families or women and children. Pastors and church members are helping provide shelter, food, warm clothes and spiritual guidance to these people. Pastors working with HBAid are preparing 500 warm meals every day, and are handing out food, clothes, sanitary items and medicine.
Slovakia — As of 10 March, there are approximately 200,000 refugees in Slovakia, and almost every church in the Baptist Union of Slovakia is offering accommodation to refugees in church buildings and the homes of members. While most refugees being housed will move on after 1-2 nights, at least 120 people have decided to stay in Slovakia permanently. Church members are helping refugees obtain the right documentation, find schooling for their children and find employment. The union has also acquired a 24-ton truck which they will be used to send aid, including fresh drinking water and food, into Ukraine.
Poland — Baptist Charity Action in Poland are working on the Poland-Ukraine border and are sending large trucks of necessities like food, water and clothes into Ukraine. Baptist churches across Poland have the capacity to help over 1,400 people every day, with many church members offering up beds in their own homes, and have helped over 10,000 people in total (including 5,000 people in Chelm and over 1,900 in Warsaw) in various ways, including providing food, shelter and spiritual care.
This includes only the latest updates but does not exclude other country responses. Please see past reports for how other Baptist Unions are responding. If your union is responding to the crisis, please let us know so that we can include your response in future updates.
EBF Response
Alan Donaldson, EBF General Secretary, visited Romania from 14 to 16 March.
EBF is gathering weekly on Wednesday during the month of March to pray for the situation. In our third gathering on 16 March prayers were offered for the continued generosity of those giving, renewed strength for those volunteering on the front line, and for safety for those transporting goods and people back and forth. The next prayer gathering will be on 23 March (19:00 CET / 18:00 GMT). Registration is here (if you have already registered, you do not need to register again).
Follow EBF on Facebook and Instagram at the icons below for more frequent updates as well as photos and videos from on the ground response.
Ukraine: Situation Report 3 (As of 12:00 CET, 11 March 2022)
Situation Overview
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports at least 1,506 civilian casualties, including 549 killed as of 9 March.
OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, especially in the government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries over the past 14 days, including more than 1.5 million people in Poland alone, along with over 225,000 in Hungary, nearly 176,000 in Slovakia and more than 84,000 in Romania.