What These Ukrainian Self-Defense Force Members Said Was Shocking!

Last week I met several members of Ukraine’s Self-Defense force and what I learned from them was shocking!

I spent the last five days with a bunch of our students hiking through Central Ukraine during what we call “Extreme Institute.” We camped in church yards and every morning and evening we taught from the book of Titus.

During the day we had time to walk around the town or village where we were staying and share the Gospel. As we headed out on Friday I prayed that God would send the right people our way.

After sharing the gospel with a half-dozen people we had made our way into the center of town. We were taking a break for a few moments when a tall man in fatigues came out of the city hall building and headed our way.

For some reason I felt like I should stop him and talk with him. I stepped toward him and simply asked,

“What do you think needs to happen in order for there to be peace in Ukraine?”

Well, that was enough to get the conversation going and we ended up talking with him and his buddies for about 90 minutes!

Here’s what they told us:

90% of soldiers are ready to turn around and attack Kyiv.

Sadly many of the Ukrainian soldiers feel betrayed by the government in Kyiv. They feel that the government officials are pocketing all the money and not providing them with the basics like bullet proof vests.

Some of the officers have been bought out.

Unfortunately everyone has their price and it appears that some of the officers have been bought out by the separatist. They are paid to give the locations of the troops, which gives the separatists quite an advantage.

They are no longer fighting separatists.

While much of the media still calls the rebels in Luganska and Donetsk “separatists,” the soldiers claim that those they are fighting are very well trained men with tons of experience and the latest weapons and technology. For the most part they are not Ukrainians.

There are many more deaths than are being reported.

The official death toll for the Ukrainian side is just over 2,000. That’s a lot but soldiers say that the deaths are under-reported and true number is much greater.

They were preparing to bury a friend who was killed by a sniper.

Just an hour after I finished talking with them these two guys  buried a friend from their town. They had just brought his body back from the front lines where he had been shot and killed by a sniper.

We talked about more than just war.

I can’t talk about peace without sharing the news of the peace that only Jesus can give!

By the time our conversation moved to spiritual matters there was a small gathering of people around us. Some were also part of the Self-Defense force and others, I’m not really sure where they came from.

I clearly shared with all of them our Jesus, who is the only one who can bring ultimate peace. The two guys in the picture above also took Ukrainian New Testaments for further reading!

Question: Will you pray for my two friends in the Ukrainian Self-Defense force?