34 Days of War in Ukraine
As many of you are new to Music Mission Kiev, I am sharing a photo taken in our Kyiv offices shortly before the February 24 invasion. This will allow you to put faces with the names I share.
Front Row Seated L – R: Lena Sagun, Oksana Polivechenko, Ira Locktionova, Valentina Yenichek,
Back Row Standing L – R: Vika Konchaskovka , Serhiy Basarab, Pastor Ruslan Marchenko, Volodya Bererezinets, Sasha Ahriyants, Valentyna Smirnova
Not pictured: Ira Donchenko, Olga Alexeeva, Serhiy Golubnichy, Dr. Vadym Shevchenko, Sergey Kuchma, Svitlana Kazantseva
Today I had an extended conversation with Serhiy Basarab (VP of Ukraine Operations). Shortly thereafter, I spoke with Vika Konchaskovka (KSOC conductor). They both conveyed their appreciation to the many supporters praying for them and contributing financially to the war efforts.
When I spoke with Serhiy, he had just finished a conversation with Oksana Polivechenko, who is now a refugee in Germany. He and Oksana have been trying to arrange for more medicine to be sent to the orphanage at Stara Basan. Oksana recently learned a new group of Russian soldiers have taken over the village. All communication with Stara Basan and the orphanage has been blocked. We have not had a direct update on the kids and counselors at the orphanage for several days.
People in the village told Oksana how the Russian troops and tanks came in on the village's main road. They began shooting up many of the houses along their way. A young woman was tending to her mother’s medical needs in their home when she was shot and killed, and her mother was wounded. These are all civilian residences, and this type of action is the definition of an atrocity.
Oksana’s brother, Volodya, was drafted into the military and sent to the heaviest area of fighting in the Donbas region. She last spoke with him two days ago. Ill-equipped with no training, she could hear his desperation. Their AK-47 rifles are no match for Russian tanks and armored vehicles with heavy machine guns. He fears their whole unit will be killed. Please add this concern to your prayer lists.
Vika is still in Kyiv and delivering needed aid to widows in her area. All of the men of the choir remain in Ukraine either in military units or waiting to be added to units. Some of our female choir members are in Kyiv, but most have fled to areas in western Ukraine. As of today, Vika has no reports of any of our KSOC members being injured or killed. I pray they all will continue to be safe. We received news that Serhiy Golubnichi, another of our chorus and symphony conductors, is safe and unharmed.
We are regularly receiving updates on numerous widows in our program. It is good to hear how many of them are surrounded by family or friends. Ira Locktionova took a widow with poor eyesight and health with her to the Czech Republic and is caring for her daily.
We also received word that Svitlana Kazantseva has moved with her family to a small Ukrainian village on the border with Hungary. Her husband got a job with a relief agency in Hungary making deliveries, she is volunteering as a cook with a local soup kitchen, and her son is attending school online. She asks for prayers for her parents and brother, who remain in Kyiv.
Pastor Ruslan continues to deliver aid around Kyiv. He reports that his mother is doing as well as can be expected. She moved in with Ruslan and his family this past fall as she is battling cancer. Ruslan’s wife, Ira, and their two boys are doing well in France.
We believe Ira Donchenko has moved her family to Germany, as she had planned, now that things are unstable in western Ukraine. We are awaiting an update from her.
We were saddened to learn that Lena Sagun’s grandfather died over the weekend in Kyiv. Her mother remained in Kyiv and was caring for him. Through the support of friends in Kyiv, her mom made arrangements for her grandfather’s remains to be cremated. The morgues and crematoriums are overcrowded, and the only other option available to them was to have him buried in a mass grave.
Pray
Pray for a no-fly zone to be enacted and this war to end.
For a peace agreement to be settled this week.
For more of the state-of-the-art defense weapons to be delivered to the needed areas in Ukraine.
For the safety and protection of the orphans and counselors at Stara Basan and for the Russian troops to leave the village, doing no more harm.
For the many children who are trying to finish their school year in classes or online.
For NATO peacekeepers to come in after the ceasefire agreement to help maintain the peace.
For God’s protection, safety, strength, and courage for the men and women fighting this war.
For food, medicines, and needed aid to get through to those in with the greatest needs.
Give
ONLINE: You can give online to musicmissionkiev.org
CALL: You can still call our U.S. office and donate your credit card. Our office phone number is 407-699-7172.
MAIL: Send a check payable to Music Mission Kiev, PO Box 161849, Altamonte Springs, FL 32716.
Contact
Please take the time to contact your government officials. Even if you have already called or written them, please do so again. I know the war is dragging on longer than expected, but this should motivate us to greater urgency on having our representatives take greater action.
Greg
CEO | Music Mission Kiev