Bible Society Ukraine: One year of war


Bible society worker Rostyslav shares about life in Ukraine 12 months into the occupation.

A year after the war began, Ukrainians are still living in the valley of darkness.   

Thousands of civilians have been killed. Towns lie in ruins. Citizens have experienced terrible violence and inhumanely denied access to food, water and medical treatment. 

Nowhere is safe. Rockets have hit even the most remote regions of the country. 

War can ruin you 

“To live a year in a full-scale war wears you down, even if you are not on the frontlines,” says Bible Society worker Rostyslav.  “The whole nation has been affected. We civilians have never been prepared to withstand this amount of stress. It can ruin you.” 

The impacts of war: 

  • More than 8.9 thousand civilians have lost their lives in Ukraine during the conflict 
  • Over 5.9 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced 
  • 8.2 million have fled to neighbouring countries 

But even in the darkest times, there is hope. Bible Society workers are at work delivering Bibles and urgent supplies to Ukrainians amidst the horrors of war. 

Hope in the darkness 

Churches and Christian organisations are actively involved in helping people by: 

  • Bringing supplies to the frontline 
  • Offering shelter 
  • Providing psychological and trauma support 
  • Sharing the Gospel with confidence. 

Bible Society Ukraine is seeing unprecedented interest in the Bible. Every day, they receive requests for Scripture.  

“Witnessing how fragile life is causes you to turn your thoughts to God, to eternity, to spiritual things,” Rostyslav says. “There’s no other way than to just stay connected to the source of humanness and guidance: The Bible.” 

“In the ministry field, there is no greater motivation than knowing your every effort counts,” he says. “Every Bible given away is capable of changing someone’s current condition and future.” 

 The need is great

The reality is that demand for the Bible outweighs supply in Ukraine. Which is why we need your help.

“Unfortunately, every time our teams head to the frontline and recently liberated areas, the Bibles we take always run out way too soon,” Rostyslav reflects.   

“There is always someone left without the Bible.” 

What you can do 

You can help bring the comfort and encouragement of God’s word to Ukraine through distribution of 150,500 Bibles

The goal of this project is to bring Scriptures to people and churches amidst the war.  

 The project will focus the Bible distribution on four main areas: 

  1. Frontline locations
  2. Recently freed territories
  3. Occupied territories
  4. The rest of the country where internally displaced people have fled.  

39,500 regular Bibles

11,000 youth Bibles

52,000 New Testament

48,000 children’s Bibles

Donate Today 

Read Rostyslav’s most treasured Scriptures: 

  • Philippians 4:6-7 
  • Psalm 118:6-7 
  • Romans 8:31 
  • Psalm 91 
  • Deuteronomy 31:6 
  • Joshua 1:9 

 

 

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