The team of New Life Christian radio remains on standby to quickly re-locate if Russia invades.

As tensions grow in the area, evangelicals continue to “trust in God, who is always with us. And we believe that our people will not give up”, says a pastor in Kharkiv.

A long-standing religious tension stretching back many centuries has contributed significantly to the current Russian build-up, largely lost on the western secularist mind.

In Ukraine, prayer gatherings multiply in the face of “stress and fear”. In Russia, evangelical leaders call for mediation.

The European Evangelical Alliance calls on Evangelicals to pray for “the area of Europe where the Church suffers the most: the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine” during the IDOP.

The Russian Evangelical Alliance calls to “restore the peaceful relations between the peoples of both countries”. Churches in Ukraine encouraged to “pray and fast for the peace in our land”.

As the war in Ukraine continues, local pastors on the frontlines are putting their faith into action. Vyacheslav Balagura (Donetsk Regional Church of God Pastor) and Peter Dudnyk (Church of God Missionary Coordinator for Ukraine union) share about their work. OM teams work with several churches in the cities of Odessa, Rivne, Vinnitsa, and Kaharlyk.

A Pew Research Center survey shows that “people in emerging economies tend to be more religious and to say that belief in God is necessary to be moral”.

The Luhansk People's Republic (Ukraine) has banned all Protestant worship, and believers try to meet in small gatherings. Uzbekistan raids worship services that have not been approved by the authorities.

The US President presents a plan that includes the creation of “a coalition of businesses for the protection of religious freedom”.

Irina Volodrska (Jews For Jesus, Ukraine) and Elia Daoud (Evangelical Alliance of Arabic Speakers in Europe) speak about how they share the gospel with their own people.

Zelenskiy beat incumbent President Petro Poroshenko with 73% of the votes.“There is still a chance for Ukraine to improve its relations with Russia”, Russian Prime Minister, Dimity Medvedev said.

Many are coming to Christ in some of the toughest prisons in this troubled part of the country.

Most administrative prosecutions end in punishment. Many are prosecuted for sharing their faith on the street. “Believers go out to share their faith less often, and give out publications or invitations less openly”.

Under the decree of autocephaly, the new church’s jurisdiction will be restricted to Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church reacts: “It is the result of political and personal ambitions”.

There have been repeated raids on churches by the Luhansk People's Republic. Authorities announced the ban of the “destructive activity of the extremist Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Churches”.

The festivals are centered around one goal - to build up this country where family and Christian values are the focal point of the public traditions and of the state policies.

The president got 75% of the votes, his biggest electoral victory. The future of religious freedom for the evangelical minorities is very much dependent on the course of East-West relations.

Public gatherings, concerts, television broadcasts and creative initiatives in many countries. 

We should pause to ask what causal links can be demonstrated between the Reformation and economic growth, democratic stability, and social justice in Protestant-background countries.

A recent EBF Mission Partnership conference in Georgia sought to ‘encourage, and inspire in ministry’ a group of indigenous church planters from Eastern Europe.

About 160,000 Christians gathered in Kiev. Evangelicals are “grateful for the opportunity and freedom to share the Good News in Ukraine today”.

Slavik Lytvynenko is an Ukranian research professor in Prague. “Athanasius taught me that work has meaning only when done with the divine perspective in mind”.

Around 130 delegates from different parts of the country reflected on the role of Christians. A manual for counselling the victims of violence has been published.

A selection of pictures of World Press Photo 2017.