Elspeth Kernebone
18 March 2024
Ukrainian Christians have urged Australians to keep praying for peace, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third year.
Australian Ukrainians say they are doing everything they can to help with the situation in Ukraine.
More than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have died, and more than 10 million been displaced, since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. At least two million homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Read more: Aid needed to supply food, goods, advocacy to fleeing Ukrainians
St Peter and St Paul Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral parish priest Father Andriy Mykytyuk urged Australian Christians to keep praying for Ukrainian victory, and sharing truth about the situation in Ukraine.
Father Mykytyuk said many countries were tiring of news about Ukraine, despite the continuing war.
He said Ukrainians in Australia were trying to raise their voices, to share about the situation continuing in Ukraine.
Father Mykytyuk said people were dying, including young people and children, and children were also being kidnapped.
He said Ukrainians in Australia were worried for their family members who were still in Ukraine.
Father Mykytyuk said he knew churches in the captive parts of Ukraine had been destroyed, and some priests arrested, but didn’t know what had happened to them.
He said even churches outside the dangerous territory weren’t safe, as they never knew when a missile would come from the sky.
Read more: The Ukraine war, a symptom of world’s troubling ailment
But Father Mykytyuk said churches were still active, praying and helping people who had lost homes and belongings.
He said Australians needed to keep praying, keep sharing the truth, and stay attentive to the situation.
“War is still there, people are dying, children are dying,” he said. “It’s not good, because in the 21st century in a democratic society, one country just decided to take another. All the values of the democratic society are broken. It’s not good.”
The Anglican Diocese in Europe published a prayer from Christ Church Kyiv warden Christina Laschenko on its website, as it commemorated the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
Read more: ‘Please pray for us as we are standing here for our land and for our roots’
Ms Laschenko asked for prayers for peace, for those who had fled their homes, and those unable to leave their homes.
She prayed for civilians who had suffered and would suffer, from war, or the consequences of war.
“We commend into God’s hands the tragedy and futility of war, of those who have died, and those who love them. Receive those fallen in battle, and all innocents who have died: surround their loved ones with compassion, and give them a patient faith,” she said.
“We pray for the victory of truth, rightness, justice, mercy and peace. Confirm what is founded on truth, and establish your love in our hearts: that justice may abound on the Earth, and all peoples rejoice in your peace.”
In a message published on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, Bishop of Europe Robert Innes said the Ukraine war was of profound importance to the future of Europe – and the Ukrainian people were paying the price in blood, tears and trauma.
“I urge everyone to continue to support Ukrainians, whether in Ukraine or in other host countries, by whatever means they can,” Bishop Innes said.
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