Ukraine (MNN) — Ukraine’s infrastructure struggles continue following Russian airstrikes. Oleksandr Kharchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s energy minister, said up to 40 percent of the national power grid had been severely damaged.
Ukraine’s energy minister is asking people to limit their electricity use, even as “heating season” begins. The country’s energy provider urged people to “charge everything” yesterday before enacting nationwide power cuts.
Russian airstrikes destroyed up to three powerplants on Wednesday. One attack came too close for comfort for TransWorld Radio Ukraine team leader Alexander Chmut.
“The electricity plant where two missiles hit is very close [to] where Alexander lives, like one kilometer away from his home,” Alenka Stephenson with TWR Europe says.
“He sent us a short message saying, ‘The war is getting closer. But the studio is supplied and without disturbance, so praise God for that.’”
Russia has launched more than 300 airstrikes on Ukrainian energy facilities since October 10. The TWR team in Kyiv has every reason to leave, but they are determined to stay the course.
A historic house from the late 19th/early 20th century in Kyiv after a Russian strike with Iranian kamikaze drones on October 17, 2022.
(Wikimedia Commons)
“They see that people are desperate and open to the Gospel. The feedback [they receive] from listeners makes it very clear that this is the right place for them [right now], and the ministry they’re doing is making a difference,” Stephenson says.
Learn how you can help the TWR Ukraine team here.
Pray TWR broadcasts will point people to the hope of Christ. Radio is a critical resource in wartime.
“Be praying for our teammate from there, Vitaly Maryash. He’s a pastor and a producer of Studying the Bible Together. He has been called to war and is on the front lines at the moment,” Stephenson says.
“Please pray for his (Maryash’s) safety, courage, and boldness for our team as they proclaim the Gospel in these difficult times.”
In the header image, firefighters combat a blaze at a heat and power station in Kyiv after Russian shelling on the morning of October 18, 2022. (Wikimedia Commons)
