“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.”
This is the report of a Ukrainian Baptist leader in Mariupol, a city that has been heavily bombed by invading Russian forces seeking to wrest control of the country from its democratically elected government. His words are highlighted in the latest situation report from the European Baptist Federation, as Baptists in the region rally together to aid those fleeing the ravages of war.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,834 civilians have been killed in the war, including 48 children. The U.N. High Commission on Refugees reports that almost 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since the start of the invasion Feb. 24.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,834 civilians have been killed in the war, including 48 children.
Poland alone has received more than 1.8 million refugees — numbers unimaginable in Europe since World War II. Poland is a country with a population roughly the size of California. The refugee influx in Poland is the equivalent of every resident of Phoenix suddenly moving across the border to California.
Another 270,000 Ukrainians have fled to Hungary, 220,000 to Slovakia and 470,000 to Romania.
The European Baptist Federation reports that humanitarian aid has been sent from temporary Ukrainian Baptist headquarters in Lviv to Kharkiv, Buzivka, Slovyansk, Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Vasylkiv.
“This mainly took the form of clothes, hygiene products, medicines and food,” the report said. “Humanitarian corridors are open, and Baptists are able to transport goods into the country from different neighboring countries.”
Ukrainian emergency employees and volunteers carry an injured pregnant woman from a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022. The woman and her baby died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka,
However, the situation is dire in cities to the east and north in Ukraine, where Russian forces are launching constant shelling, including at civilian buildings. The EBF reported of the aid work: “Drivers go back and forth between conflict areas, bringing aid from the west and people fleeing back with them to the east.”
In Poltava, located 140 km from the besieged city of Kharkiv, large numbers of refugees are arriving every day. “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,” the report states.
Baptists in neighboring countries continue their massive humanitarian efforts unabated, the EBF report explains.
Ten Hungarian congregations within Ukraine near the Hungary-Ukraine border 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.
“Almost every church in the Baptist Union of Slovakia is offering accommodation to refugees in church buildings and the homes of members,” the report states. “While most refugees being housed will move on after one to two 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 will be used to send aid, including fresh drinking water and food, into Ukraine.”
Baptist churches across Poland are able to help more than 1,400 people every day, with many church members offering beds in their own homes. To date, Polish Baptists have helped 10,000 people with food, shelter and spiritual care. Baptist Charity Action in Poland is sending large trucks of food, water and clothes into Ukraine.
The Baptist Union in the Czech Republic continues to send 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. Although the Czech Republic does not share a border with Ukraine, about 200,000 refugees from Ukraine have arrived there. Churches are offering them food, accommodation and general aid.
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