Yesterday a grad rocket landed near a civilian bus killing 13 people and injuring another 16 at a Ukrainian army checkpoint in the town of Volnovakha.
One of those killed in th attack was a young girl named Nastya who attended Word of Life Church and sang in the choir there.
Photo Ukraine Today
A Family Mourns
It’s easy to depersonalize these deaths but when I heard about Nastya, a young girl who sang in the church choir, it reminded me that behind each death is a family and sometimes a church that mourns. The difficulty with war is that the grief often turns into anger and unforgiveness which in turn leads to more war.
A Bad Sign for Ukraine
This strike against civilians is not a good sign in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. While the ceasefire has never been a real ceasefire, in recent days even the relative “calm” of the ceasefire seems to have been blown out of the water. This particular attack has gotten the attention of many Ukrainians.
Fighting Intensifies
Fighting on the North side of Donetsk near the airport has picked up in intensity, lighting up the night-time sky regularly with the orange flashes of grad missile fire. The khaboom, khaboom of rockets finding their target and the ratatatat or small arms fire can be heard for miles!
More Fighters Needed
In response to the increasing hostilities and the growing risk from Kremlin backed fighters in Eastern Ukraine, the president signed a decree today that would allow the military to draft another 50,000 men and women into the armed services immediately.
Again families will be affected, many families will be changed forever!
Prayer Needed
So once again I’m asking you to pray for the situation in Ukraine. Below is a short list to help focus your prayers.
- Pray for the families of those civilians killed on the bus yesterday.
- Pray for churches in the war zone who are ministering to those who may have lost loved ones.
- Pray for wisdom for Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
- Pray for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to truly seek peace.
- Pray for continued peace and safety for us outside of the war zone.
