February 24 marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Ukraine team at Christians for Israel is working tirelessly to help Jewish communities in many ways. Here is a brief status report.
When Koen Carlier, head of our Ukraine ministry, was practically forcing supplies of mattresses and food on Jewish communities at the end of 2021, no one could have imagined that four years later, this Eastern European country on Europe’s doorstep would still be burning and bleeding.
No one could have imagined that 30 years after the end of the Cold War, Russia would continue a war on Ukrainian territory that has already lasted longer for the population than the German occupation during World War II. The US Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates a total of 1.8 million casualties, including up to 140,000 dead on the Ukrainian side and 350,000 on the Russian side. Russia has not been able to break the will for freedom of the country, which has been independent for 35 years, and Ukraine, for its part, has not been able to repel the Russian occupation.
In the spring of 2022, the Russian front closed in like a crescent moon around the eastern half of Ukraine—from the shared border with Belarus in the north to the Black Sea in the south. After the planned blitzkrieg failed, the hell of the front line in the east solidified along the separatist districts of Luhansk and Donetsk.
With the (re)opening of a second front in the north in the spring of 2024 and increasing attacks on cities along the Black Sea, Ukraine is once again surrounded by a pincer-like siege ring. It is no longer possible to travel north, south, or, for a long time now, east.
However, a drone or missile attack can hit any place at any time. When a guided drone enters Ukrainian airspace, it can take hours before it strikes or is neutralized. That is why in some places there are days when the air raid sirens hardly ever stop. And no one seeks safety anymore, because life must go on somehow.
“What keeps us going is the knowledge that we are not alone” – Koen Carlier
What is new this winter is the now devastating state of the energy infrastructure, which is being attacked with increasing frequency—a key strategy in this war of attrition. While power outages were still a surprise in the early years of the war, and the country was able to compensate for the outages after targeted Russian attacks with other power plants, days with only one or two hours of electricity are no longer an exception, even in the interior of the country. As soon as the lights come on, people rush to the power outlets to charge their cell phones and power banks and quickly cook something.
What was also unforeseeable four years ago is that we are still able to carry out our work in Ukraine; that our brave staff on the ground are still there, standing by the Jewish people wherever they need help and comfort. After the chaotic first months of the war, when all resources were being used to evacuate refugees, it became clear that all the aid provided so far would continue to be needed. The children of war from back then do not want to or cannot leave again now that they are elderly, and families often cannot bring themselves to part with their husbands, who are conscripted into military service and are not allowed to leave the country.
More than 10,000 hot meals are served each month in over 20 soup kitchens. The team, together with local helpers, packs an average of 2,000 food parcels per month. Ukrainian Jews are driven to consulate appointments and finally to the airport in Chisinau on the day of their departure – every week. And the survivors of the Holocaust are visited in their loneliness and given gifts. Alina made 700 visits last year to the Jewish seniors in our sponsorship program.
Now the war has once again entered a critical phase. Targeted attacks on the remaining power plants have brought the country closer and closer to the brink of collapse, with double-digit sub-zero temperatures lasting for several weeks. It is the coldest winter since the war began. The fact that the mayor of Kiev called on the millions of inhabitants of this metropolis to leave the city was unprecedented. More than half a million people have left the city, and one million households in Kyiv are without electricity. No electricity also means no water. The frost has caused irreparable damage. How long will the country, will our team, be able to hold out?
“What keeps us going is the knowledge that we are not alone,” says Koen Carlier. “The prayers of our friends on the home front keep us going.”
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