Ukraine (MNN) — Ukraine claims Russia used chemical weapons on the city of Mariupol Monday evening. The city has been under siege since the early days of Russia’s invasion.
Such an attack would violate international law, according to NATO officials. The U.S. has already formed a team to prepare consequences for Russia should they use chemicals weapons in the invasion. The World Health Organization has a response team of 1,500 health workers in Ukraine to deal with chemical attacks.
Refugees
Western nations consider chemical weapons an escalation because they put civilians in danger. Already, over four and a half million refugees have fled Ukraine to escape the violence.
Mike Jorgensen works with e3 Partners as the Director of Global Migration Initiative. He recently visited the Polish border with Ukraine. The team of six spent about a week there. Jorgensen says, “There was no central planning. It was just a lot of ministries, a lot of secular NGOs, and government programs. So many needs were being met.” People walking across the border had access to food, strollers, diapers, and even free prepaid phones.
“What we learned from the pastors that we talked to was there was a great need for trauma healing.”
The team gathered groups of refugees together and talked to them about the trauma they experienced. Often, they would point to biblical characters who suffered and how God interacted with them.
Evangelism
Jorgensen says they talked to Polish hosts as well. “Everybody we talked to had Ukrainian families living with them. A lot of the people that weren’t going to other countries were actually living in Polish homes. This same pastor was giving the Ukrainian believers evangelistic materials in Polish, to share with their Polish hosts.”
Russian forces have retreated from Kyiv, and many Ukrainians have started to return. Pray the war would end soon. You can also donate to support e3 Partner’s work here.
The header photo shows the city of Mariupol after Russian bombing early in the invasion. (Photo courtesy of Mvs.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
