Russia/Ukraine (MNN) – Tomorrow marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, igniting a war that has reshaped borders, broken families, and altered the course of millions of lives.
Trans World Radio (TWR) has ministry teams in both Russia and Ukraine. Over the past four years, they have felt the strain from every angle — culturally, spiritually, and personally — as the conflict drags on with no clear end in sight.
A Gospel worker* with TWR remembers the early days of the invasion and the shock that rippled across the region.
“Of course, as everyone else in the world thought, ‘Okay, this will be maybe a very short…crisis.’ But I think after the first year, everyone realized that it will be way harder to find a solution. Starting in the second and third year, I remember that they were so, so tired because nobody was expecting it to take so long.”
As the conflict zones reached deeper into the country and closer to TWR Ukraine’s ministry location, the team began to experience water, electricity, and power shortages alongside their neighbors. Yet, they refused to fall silent.
“They still wanted to continue to produce the content,” he says, “because there is an audience out there, especially in wartime, who need to hear about the Gospel.”
After four years of war and an estimated 600,000 Ukrainian troops killed, the devastation has carved gaping holes in families and communities. Nearly every household carries a story of loss.
Through radio programs and digital outreach, TWR meets people in that pain — offering steady reminders of hope when everything else feels unstable.
“The director of Ukraine always says there is one thing we’re talking about – God, and that He’s always there. Even in these circumstances and times, God is next to us. God is near, and we can rely on Him. This is what the Ukraine team is talking about all the time in their content.”
On the Russian side, the toll is staggering as well. Nearly 1.2 million troops have reportedly died in the conflict. TWR’s Gospel worker says many people in Russia are also facing grief and spiritual struggles.
At the same time, ministry has grown more complicated. As the Kremlin tightens its grip on internet access, apps, programs, and even VPN providers, reaching listeners requires constant adaptation.
He explains, “You see that you have 5,000 subscribers, and the next day there is no one because they can’t reach the platform. So…they need to follow the audience. Where everyone is going, they need to follow regarding the connection, but also regarding the content. So upload the content again and again and again, kind of moving from one platform to the other, to not lose all our audience – because they have, as the Ukrainian people as well, questions and are waiting for the war to end.”
The spiritual hunger has not diminished. If anything, it has deepened.
Please pray for peace — for a just end to the war and for comfort for grieving families on both sides. Pray, too, that the Gospel would flourish in the middle of the devastation, reaching those searching for hope in their darkest hours.
Also, TWR’s Gospel worker adds, “Pray for…protection for our teams – and I would say on both sides. It’s still a miracle that four years after starting the war, no one was affected. No one was kind of drawn to the military from our teams, and that’s a blessing. But the people in the countries, they need the content of our teams. So please pray for security for our teams.”
Learn more about TWR’s vital faith ministry at twr.org.
*Name withheld for security purposes.
