Ukraine (MNN) — Ukrainian forces have entered the southern city of Kherson after a Russian retreat. It was the first and only major city seized by Russia during the invasion.
Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association says, “For many Ukrainians (in fact, I met recently with two Ukrainian leaders from the Ukrainian Baptist Union), there is a sense of excitement. A city that is very important to them is now accessible. We’re seeing a constantly changing battlefield. As Russia asserts that they have new Russian regions, the reality is they cannot secure what they’re claiming .”
“And the Ukrainian army, of course, will not stop until it regains its own territory.”
Wherever Russian forces retreat, they leave devastation behind. Mock reports villages and cities burned to the ground and people found hiding in their basements. “Combine that with the drones, missiles, and rockets attacking their infrastructure, and they’re bracing for a terrible winter.”
Even worse, many Ukrainian children have been separated from their parents. Mock says, “During a meeting with the Ukrainian leaders, this was a question that was posed: ‘What are you doing to help the children that have been separated from their parents who have now been placed throughout Russia in foster homes or an orphanage? How are you going to return them to their families?’ They had no answer.”
Get involved
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. Mock says, “They’re not only going to be centers of warmth when all else has been destroyed, but they’re centers of hope. Our hope is in Jesus Christ.”
“So in the middle of the cold of winter, these churches are proclaiming the hope of Jesus.”
You can support this work here. Ask God to strengthen churches throughout Ukraine as they love their neighbors.
(The header photo shows a destroyed Russian tank near Kherson. (Photo courtesy of armyinform.com.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
