Ukraine

April 1:  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 to travel to other European countries.

• A youth leader and evangelist from a church in Mykolaiv have 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 organizations 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 organizers 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.

• 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 organize 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 organized 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 organizing 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.