In the face of a looming invasion and war, Christians in Ukraine face their worries by setting up a "shield of prayer and worship" against Russia.
New Generation Church Pastor Kyzmenko Dmytro revealed in an interview with CBN News that believers are looking to Jesus as they pray for peace. New Generation Church is located in Lviv, which is West of Ukraine near the border of Poland.
"People are worried but we encourage them to look to Jesus with all of our might because it's only through prayer that we can keep peace in our country," Dmytro said.
Dmytro shared that a majority or 70% of his congregation has escaped the ongoing violence in eastern Ukraine. One of them is Kateryna Skudan, who came from Donetsk and still has her family there.
"My heart right now is with my relatives I left behind in Donetsk: My mom, my sister and my grandmother but they cannot leave this territory and it breaks me," Skudan said.
Lviv's Christ Embassy Church Pastor Timothy Adegbile, a Nigerian, said Christians from across Africa are also praying for Ukraine.
"As Christians and as people of God, it's our job and our duty to pray for the whole world because the Lord wants peace," Adegbile said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began preparations last week for a looming invasion of Ukraine by Russia's Vladimir Putin. Russia has continued to deploy massive numbers of its troops-around 130,000 currently as per reports from Washington-in the Ukrainian border.
NATO members, such as the United States, France, and Germany, have sent troops in areas surrounding Ukraine to provide necessary support in the event of an invasion by Russia, which then demanded the said NATO troops to be recalled. Russia's demands were dismissed.
President Joe Biden called Putin on Saturday in the hopes of calming the tension and changing the latter's mind. The White House said the call lasted for an hour and Biden was able to present "ideas on the table that would be in our and our allies' interest to pursue" while reinstating commitments to uphold the "sovereignty, territorial integrity, and rights" of Ukraine. However, " it remains unclear whether Russia is interested in pursuing its goals diplomatically as opposed to through the use of force."
Biden then reassured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday that "the United States would respond swiftly and decisively, together with its Allies and partners, to any further Russian aggression against" them.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have warned that the country is prepared any moment Putin decides to start his invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. and other countries have moved staff to Lviv as part of the preparations.
"We're in the window when a Russian invasion could start at any time if President Putin so decides. That includes in the coming days," Blinken said.
Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price announced in Twitter on Monday that NATO is also supporting Ukraine's economy in the face of all these uncertainties.
Blinken said in a statement that they offering " sovereign loan guarantee to Ukraine of up to $1 billion to support its economic reform agenda and continued engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)." The loan is similar to what was offered to Ukraine in 2014 and 2016 by the United States, which Blinken highlighted was pivotal to the stability of the former's economy.
Readers are urged to pray for the peace of Ukraine.
