Ukraine (MNN) — Ukrainians are still recovering after a wave of Russian attacks on cities across the country last week. At least 48 people were killed, many were injured, and countless others lost their homes. The strikes were the deadliest to hit Kyiv this year.
Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association says the attacks overwhelmed the capital with a relentless barrage.
“There was a massive number of missiles that came in, and you could see wreckage coming down on buildings, which are igniting fires on the tops of the buildings, and then also the missiles and drones hitting all over Kyiv, people dying, people injured,” Mock says.
Children playing in front of a building being rebuilt in Zaporizhzhia (photo courtesy of SGA)
As reports of destruction continue to emerge, Mock warns that the constant stream of heartbreaking news can take a spiritual and emotional toll on those watching from afar.
“It’s just so much to process,” Mock says.
That sense of overload can easily lead to weariness and even desensitization. Yet Mock says there is another reality unfolding alongside the devastation — one that cannot be measured by military developments or casualty reports.
“In the middle of this hopelessness and this normalization of the difficulties around us, the church is now growing and flourishing,” Mock explains.
According to Mock, Ukrainian believers are finding hope not because the danger has passed, but because their confidence rests in Christ rather than their circumstances.
“It is about their conviction that Jesus will not leave them or forsake them. It is about their conviction that the promises of new life will continue,” Mock says.
That conviction is sustaining Christians even as air raid sirens, missile strikes, and falling debris remain a regular part of daily life.
“When wreckage from missiles are raining down, and missiles are falling down. They know they can’t stop that, but in those times they can trust in God,” Mock adds.
Please pray for the endurance of Ukrainian believers as they continue serving their communities amid ongoing attacks. Pray also for wisdom as Christians answer the difficult questions people are asking about suffering, loss, and hope, pointing them to the unchanging promises of Christ.
Visit Slavic Gospel Association to learn more about the way church serves amid the war in Ukraine.
Header photo: Representative photo of Kyiv under attack, 2022 (photo courtesy of Maksym Pozniak-Haraburda via Unsplash).
