This month representatives of David Hathaway’s Ministry in Ukraine shared the Gospel and distributed Bibles in Slovyansk, which is part of a highly militarised zone of Ukraine. Ministering alongside Bishop Valeriy Antoniuk (Baptist Union in Ukraine), Father Vasiliy (Orthodox Priest, and Vice-President of Ukraine Bible Society), Anatoliy Raychinec (Deputy to the President of Ukraine Bible Society), Ivan Rusin (Chancellor of the Ukraine Evangelical Seminary), and Pastor Andriy Borylo (‘Transfiguration of God’ Church, Slovyansk), the team spent two days on the Frontline praying with the military. They also visited the Second Mechanised Battalion in Berdichevek, the 26th Mechanised Brigade, the Military Intelligence Unit, and the Artillery Unit in Lysichansk.
Since the war began in east Ukraine, early 2014, over 20,000 have died, over 30,000 have been injured, and over 2 million have been internally displaced. The front line is approximately 280 miles in length. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has transitioned to a stalemate after it first erupted in early 2014, but shelling and skirmishes still occur regularly, with frequent escalations in violence. The situation remains unresolved.
History of the conflict
In March 2014, Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s Crimean region, before formally annexing the peninsula after Crimeans ‘voted’ to join the Russian Federation in a disputed local referendum. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the need to protect the rights of Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Crimea and southeast Ukraine. The crisis heightened ethnic divisions, and two months later, pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine held a referendum to declare independence from Ukraine.
Although Moscow has denied its involvement, Ukraine and NATO have reported the buildup of Russian troops and military equipment near Donetsk and Russian cross-border shelling.
In July 2014, the situation in Ukraine escalated into an international crisis and put the United States and the European Union (EU) at odds with Russia when a Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down over Ukrainian airspace, killing all 298 onboard. Dutch air accident investigators concluded in October 2015 that the plane had been downed by a Russian-built surface-to-air missile. In September 2016, investigators said that the missile system was provided by Russia, determining it was moved into eastern Ukraine and then back to Russian territory following the downing of the airplane
Source: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine
