Mass Grave Reveals Bodies of Slain Church Leaders in Eastern Ukraine

I think you should watch the video in this post but be aware that it does contain graphic images of the corpses which were pulled from a mass grave in the center of Slavyansk, Ukraine.

After Ukrainian troops retook several cities in Eastern Ukraine they discovered that the separatist who had dominated those towns for several months had been disposing bodies into mass graves!

This video shows the first mass grave that was discovered and in which they found the bodies of 14 people. In addition to this grave, they have recently dug up another one containing 52 bodies.

According to reports, there may be several other mass grave sites as well as individual unmarked graves that were dug in the forests and fields. In all there are at least 300 people who have gone missing in recent months in this area of Ukraine.

Abducted from the worship service

The bodies of four evangelical church leaders from Transfiguration Church were identified in this first mass grave site!

The remains of the following men were found in the mass grave:

• Albert Povenko -Pastor’s son, 24 years old.
• Reuben Povenko -Pastor’s son, 30 years old.
• Vladimir Velichko -Deacon, father of 8 children.
• Victor Bradarskogo -Deacon, father of 3 children.

In an interview with Radio Svoboda Anton Gerashenko, an official with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said:

“On June 8th terrorists arrived during the worship service. They seized four parishioners. These were the two sons of the pastor, Albert and Reuben Povenky. They are young guys who still had their whole life in front of them, Albert was 24 years old and Reuben – 30. They also seized parishioners Vladimir Velichko and Victor Bradarskogo.  Vladimir left eight children, and Victor – three. They were taken from the church because someone reported to the terrorists that they were aiding the Ukrainian military …”

Pray with us!

I want to invite you to pray with us this week for the people of Eastern Ukraine and especially for the families who have tragically lost loved ones!

Here’s how you can pray:

• Pray for the following families; Povenka, Velichko and Bradarskogo as they mourn the loss of their fathers, husbands and sons!
• Pray for churches still under the threat of terrorist separatists in Donetsk and Lughansk regions.
• Pray that the terrorists would be eradicated from all areas of Ukraine.
• Pray for refugees who have fled Eastern Ukraine. (Learn how you can help them here!)
• Pray for our family as we prepare to fly to Ukraine on August 11th!

 Question: Will you join us in prayer for Ukraine this week? Let me know!