After a first drone damaged the Emmanuil church at night, a second explosion killed a father and his 5-year-old daughter, leaving the mother hospitalised. The family was involved in Christian ministry and had fled eastern Ukraine.
.png "Two photos shared by Emmanuil Church after the explosion of two Russian drones on their property. / Photos: [link]Emmanuil church Kyiv[/link].")
Two photos shared by Emmanuil Church after the explosion of two Russian drones on their property. / Photos: [link]Emmanuil church Kyiv[/link].
The impact of a Russian drone on an evangelical church in Kyiv killed a father and his 5-year-old daughter who were temporarily living in an accomodation providing shelter to people fleeing the war in the east of Ukraine.
During the night of Saturday 22nd to Sunday 23rd March, two Russian guided missiles casued destruction on the grounds of the Emmanuil church, which is located in an industrial area on the outskirts of the capital.
L.B., who leads a Christian children’s ministry in Ukraine, told Evangelical Focus that the first drone exploded in the air and heavily affected the roof of the church, “causing damage by hundreds of smaller pieces to the walls, vehicles and the territory”.
On social media, Emmanuil shared images of destroyed windows, rubble, as well as the recording of a security camera the moment one of the drones hit the building. The blow also damaged a recording studio used to broadcast their services.
But then a second bomb from a drone fell next to a temporary module house that the church was using to provide shelter to people internally displaced by the fighting in the east of the country.
“During the explosion, the father of the family and her daughter were killed”. The child was only five years old. “The mother survived only because she was blown away by the blast wave and found lying on a bed mattress several meters away from the house”, L.B. explained to Evangelical Focus.
Testimonies say she was found alive 50 meters away and brought to a hospital and treated in an Intensive Care Unit.
Oleksandr and Oleksandra, together with their daughter Nicole, served in their host church in various areas, especially with children and teenagers. Both of them also served “people like them – Internally Displaced Persons who fled or totally lost their homes in the ruined towns of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia areas (oblasts in Ukrainian)”, explained L.B.
After the attack, Emmanuil’s leadership expressed: “Our church has suffered a terrible tragedy” that “has taken the lives of our family in Christ”. They quoted Psalm 34:18 (“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”).
“Despite the pain, we know God has not forsaken us”, the evangelical church added. “He is near even in this darkness. We believe that love is stronger than death, and our church will be reborn as a symbol of faith, hope, and steadfastness. It's time to shine for the Church of Jesus Christ!”
On their website, the church shares details for those who want to give to rebuild the church premises.
Two days after the Russian attack, a post on Facebook told more details about the young family. They were from a church in Orikhiv. The danger of attacks and the confiscation of their family business forced the mother and daughter to seek a more secure refuge in the capital Kyiv, where they were welcomed by the Kyiv church while the father continued to serve his home church with humanitarian aid tasks and spiritual support.
They had been reunited a few weeks ago and had been living topgether again since the beginning of 2025, in the premises offered to them by Emmanuil church.
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