War in Ukraine Update
October 12th 2023
Thank you for being a part of our HART community as we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the churches and people of Ukraine who are fighting for their freedom and democracy.
Nineteen months after the full-scale invasion began, Vladimir Putin’s war strategy has become distressingly clear. It is simply to bomb Ukraine into submission, killing as many civilians as possible. Just last week, Russia launched two potent missiles that were directed at and struck a cafe in a village situated in the Kharkiv province. In this cafe, families and friends had gathered to bid farewell to a soldier who had lost his life in combat.
The father of two had died in the first months of the war and was hastily buried as the Russian invasion was ongoing. A year later, his children (teenagers) and their mother decided to repatriate his remains to their village and were having an official burial service for him as Russian missiles struck.
These mourners became the war’s latest grisly victims: 52 people were killed. Whole families were wiped out in seconds. Tragic. Barbaric. In the below interview with a long-time friend of mine, Pastor Ivan Rusyn shared insights about Ukrainian Christians - who despite the carnage - are people who have hope, "knowing that the Lord has the final word, and we believe in His justice."
Putin’s cynical calculus is that Ukrainians and the West will eventually tire of a war with no end in sight. And yet amid this terrible carnage, there are a few positive signs. Ukraine’s counter-offensive on land – designed to liberate the south of the country and to bisect occupying Russian forces – has been progressing slowly but steadily.
In the Black Sea, however, Ukraine has made remarkable progress. Drones and missiles have destroyed targets in Crimea and forced Russia's mighty Black Sea Fleet to find safer harbours in Russian ports in the East. Meanwhile, merchant ships are sailing again, carrying cargoes of grain to feed countries in Africa and the Middle East.
For the past twenty months, it has been a privilege for us to serve as a channel of your generosity amidst this ongoing war. On behalf of all your partner Churches and their pastors in Ukraine, our sincere thanks for your prayers and generosity. Thank you for choosing to co-labour with HART - as we serve and support our fellow Christians during this dark period of Ukraine's history.
Lloyd Cenaiko
President/Founder
Ukraine Crisis & Refugee Fund
Nineteen months after the full-scale invasion began, Vladimir Putin’s war strategy has become distressingly clear. It is simply to bomb Ukraine into submission, killing as many civilians as possible. Just last week, Russia launched two potent missiles that were directed at and struck a cafe in a village situated in the Kharkiv province. In this cafe, families and friends had gathered to bid farewell to a soldier who had lost his life in combat.
The father of two had died in the first months of the war and was hastily buried as the Russian invasion was ongoing. A year later, his children (teenagers) and their mother decided to repatriate his remains to their village and were having an official burial service for him as Russian missiles struck.
These mourners became the war’s latest grisly victims: 52 people were killed. Whole families were wiped out in seconds. Tragic. Barbaric. In the below interview with a long-time friend of mine, Pastor Ivan Rusyn shared insights about Ukrainian Christians - who despite the carnage - are people who have hope, "knowing that the Lord has the final word, and we believe in His justice."
Putin’s cynical calculus is that Ukrainians and the West will eventually tire of a war with no end in sight. And yet amid this terrible carnage, there are a few positive signs. Ukraine’s counter-offensive on land – designed to liberate the south of the country and to bisect occupying Russian forces – has been progressing slowly but steadily.
In the Black Sea, however, Ukraine has made remarkable progress. Drones and missiles have destroyed targets in Crimea and forced Russia's mighty Black Sea Fleet to find safer harbours in Russian ports in the East. Meanwhile, merchant ships are sailing again, carrying cargoes of grain to feed countries in Africa and the Middle East.
For the past twenty months, it has been a privilege for us to serve as a channel of your generosity amidst this ongoing war. On behalf of all your partner Churches and their pastors in Ukraine, our sincere thanks for your prayers and generosity. Thank you for choosing to co-labour with HART - as we serve and support our fellow Christians during this dark period of Ukraine's history.
Lloyd Cenaiko
President/Founder
Ukraine Crisis & Refugee Fund
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