As we are approaching the anniversary of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, we reflect on all that has happened in the last 12 months.
 
Almost half of the Ukrainian people were forced to flee their homes. Close to 8 million people are still abroad waiting to return home, and almost 6 million people are internally displaced. Thousands of civilians are dead, hundreds are missing, and tens of thousands are injured. Millions of homes and apartments are destroyed, and almost a third of the population has lost everything they had, but they still are ready to fight for their freedom.

Even though the Ukrainian army liberated many towns and villages, the fighting still rages on, especially in Donetsk region. The missile attacks on infrastructure targets left most Ukrainians without heat, water, and electricity. Many Ukrainians got accustomed to life, work, and even school classes in basements and bomb shelters.

The cruel attacks on civilian targets, like the apartment building in Dnipro, continue to shock us all. What we have learned is that this is how Russia fights. Russia does not value its own people’s lives and they care even less about other people... Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine.

On the other hand, we learn more and more of the heroic Ukrainian people. Churches, volunteers, and many groups are helping people to survive this winter. Most of Little Lambs’ staff decided to stay and help. From day one they have been evacuating people, and bringing food and medicine to the villages where people are cut off from any supplies.

This winter we have delivered 100 wood burning stoves to villages and places without heat, and distributed 20 generators to help churches and towns have a safe warm place to charge their phones and flashlights. For almost a year, our drivers have been on the road every week to evacuate more people from Chernigov, Kiev, Sumy, Kharkov, Donetsk, and Kherson regions. Vitaly and his team have helped thousands of people connect with their relatives, relocate to a safer city, or find housing for people that have no place to stay. For people that cannot or will not evacuate, they have helped to deliver food, medicine, stoves, and other help. In some places it is getting very risky and dangerous. Just a few days ago with the help of the Ukrainian army, Vitaly and our drivers team evacuated a family of 15 from Bakhmut area. Sadly, after 12 months of war and heavy fighting in that area, some people still don’t want to leave their homes!

Our two orphan drivers, Sasha and Ruslan, have dedicated their lives to helping others! I met Sasha in 1993 and Ruslan a few years later. God has adopted them into His family and today they are doing all they can to save lives. A few weeks ago I received this message from Sasha: “Yesterday I took a van full of people from Kherson region to L’viv. It’s a long ride and we stopped overnight at the church, where we stayed with Vitaly many times. Tonight, the church had a Bible study and all my refugees stayed for the Bile study. Some even participated, because they had questions, but all enjoyed the prayers that were spoken for them and for all the people in Ukraine." She continued: "Tonight the Gospel was clearly presented in a simple way to people who needed to hear it. So I am sitting here in this little church, tired, but full of joy and my spirit is high, because even for this moment it was all worth it! It's all worth it, what we are doing. People need to know Jesus. Thank you, Father, for this opportunity." Sasha is a missionary with YWAM, and for the last 12 years she has served in Uganda, Cambodia, Philippines, and Brazil, but when the war started, she left Brazil to return to Ukraine to help the people in her country. Thank you all for praying for her and all our drivers. Sasha was in a car accident just a week ago, but God protected her, and she said: “Not even a hair was missing from my body. God is good to me.”

Thank you so much for your prayers! They are keeping our drivers safe. The roads were always bad in Ukraine; they are worse in the winter, and even worse during the war.

As we soon enter the second year of war, the people in Ukraine are weary, hurt, angry, and frustrated. Please continue to pray for the nation of Ukraine! Please pray that this war will end soon: pray for victory and freedom for Ukraine.

Ukraine still needs our support, we are so grateful to you that for the last 12 months we were able to help our Ukrainian partners in their ministry. Whenever they needed funds we were able to send it to them. This is because you have been so generous. Thank you! But as the war drags out, people forget about Ukraine, and the struggle with high inflation in the US makes fewer people able to give. Please pray that we will continue to be able to help the Ukrainian people.
 
Please continue to pray for the Ukrainian people and please help us to ease the suffering of people who are caught in this unfair, and for many, devastating Russian war.

It has been a long and scary year for the Ukrainian people. Our love helps them not to feel isolated or forgotten. Our generosity helps them to survive. Our prayers help them to find strength to go on and fight for their freedom. Thank you for helping people in Ukraine.