Ukrainians Clinging to Faith in a Frontline Town

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Protestant pastor keeps his church open as a sanctuary for remaining residents and evacuees in a frontline Ukrainian town battered by relentless Russian artillery and drone strikes. Photo by Antonio Graceffo

In a town bombarded day and night by Russian artillery and drones, and in the face of an ever-encroaching front line, a Protestant pastor continues not only to hold his church, but to grow it, even as most of the civilian population has fled.

“Listening to God is the most important thing right now. But we had a similar situation before,” said Pastor Yuriy. The church has survived a number of near misses, including cars hit by drones in the parking lot. Many houses in the surrounding neighborhood have also been destroyed or damaged, but Pastor Yuriy said, “We worry more about people right now than the building.”

The church continues to hold services and choir practices while Pastor Yuriy explains that each day, more civilians finally decide to leave. “A lot of evacuations will be happening soon. We have a lot of elderly people, people who don’t have anywhere to go.” The church takes in evacuees until relocation plan can be arranged. “We need to guide them by the hand, because they would not be able to go on their own. We’re praying that God is going to provide and help.”

The current situation across much of the country repeats what happened in 2022. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces captured territory rapidly, causing millions to flee. The pastor remembered when so many residents left the town. “Our team left as well. Only myself and two chaplains were left here. I even printed out a sign that said the church was closed.”

Before closing the doors, the pastor had a second thought. “I thought, maybe I’ll hold one last service for whoever might come.” He was pleasantly surprised when 400 people showed up, most of them local residents he had never met before. “Unbelievers,” he said, but they came when they heard a service was taking place.

From that point, he decided to remain and continue holding services. He smiled fondly as he recounted the faith that grew during those early, desperate days of the war. “We were praying that the enemy would not enter here. We were praying for a counterattack.”

Eventually, foreign military aid arrived and volunteers joined the Ukrainian mobilization effort. Russian forces were driven out of many areas, allowing locals to return to their homes. “Up until this point, God has been leading us,” Pastor Yuriy said.

More recently, however, the tide has turned once again in favor of the Russians, forcing Ukrainian troops to fall back.

An 80-kilometer stretch of highway leading into the city is covered with mesh netting to protect traveling vehicles from Russian fiber optic drone strikes. (Photo: Antonio Graceffo)

“I know that it’s season two of our process,” the pastor said. “We are praying that God is going to keep us safe, because I know that God has spoken to us about this before,” referencing the first phase of the war that began with Moscow’s 2014 aggression in Donbas and Crimea. “We stand on the ground and the affirmation that God has spoken to us before.”

Apart from the obvious need for physical safety, one of the most urgent needs requested by churches, police stations, and local public service organizations is for generators and power stations to offset increasingly frequent power outages. “A lot of explosions happen, and they hit the electrical infrastructure. So, a lot of money is going towards fuel,” the pastor explained.

Many residents, particularly those living near the front line, face severe economic hardship. These constant blackouts mean they must purchase fuel or oil to stay warm through the winter, a financial burden that is becoming increasingly difficult for them to manage.

As Russian forces advance and air strikes intensify, the region faces a relentless wave of civilian displacement, leaving whole neighborhoods empty, damaged by artillery, and without power or heat. With local energy infrastructure battered by daily bombardment, calls for advanced air defense systems like Patriot missiles have grown increasingly urgent to protect vulnerable towns. Yet, even as the front line shifts, the security environment deteriorates, and more families are forced to flee, Pastor Yuriy refuses to abandon his station, keeping the church open as a vital sanctuary for those who remain.

Despite these overwhelming hardships, the pastor remains resolutely hopeful. “I feel like God is holding it up. Since the full-scale invasion, more and more people have started coming,” Pastor Yuriy said. Hundreds have since been baptized into the congregation, a spiritual renewal that he describes as the one thing no artillery shell or advancing army can take away.