Ukraine: We need your prayers, Christians say

‘Keep praying for us,’ the Ukraine Bible Society has said as the intensity of the war continues to mount and civilians are increasingly placed in danger. 

Its team in the capital Kyiv is continuing to bring ‘physical and spiritual food to people in need’ said spokesman Rostyslav Stasyuk; Christians from the Western Ukraine have sent fresh bread and food. Local churches and volunteers in Southern Ukraine are continuing serving people in need with food and Bibles.

He said the nation had been ‘horrified’ at the attack on the Energodar nuclear plant, which supplies a quarter of Ukraine's energy needs, and that supplies of iodine – which provides some protection  against the long-term effects of radiation – had sold out of pharmacies within hours. 

All of the Bible Society's staff were still safe, he said. Volunteers in Kharkiv, close to the Russian border, brought some humanitarian aid including food and water to citizens who had spent the night in shelters. FM radio had begun broadcasting Russian channels in the morning but then Ukrainian stations returned, said Rostyslav. 

Last night it was agreed in principle between Russia and Ukraine that humanitarian corridors would be established to evacuate civilians from war zones. ‘We hope and pray that this happens without any interruptions – in the past, there were cases when the humanitarian/evacuation buses were shot,’ he said.