By Gennady Podgasiky
Since the war in Ukraine started on February 2022, we visited Ukraine twice: the first time in August of 2022 and the second time in April of 2023. Both times the fighting was raging on the eastern and southern fronts of the country.
There was an uncertainty about when and how this ongoing hostility would end and what its impact on Ukrainian people will be. In August 2022 there was an atmosphere of people merely surviving. They were in survival mode since there were shortages of fuel, food, electricity, internet, etc. People were preparing for the upcoming winter and possibility of shortages of natural gas and electricity to heat their houses. All efforts were directed towards mobilization and delaying the onslaught of Russian military and informational warfare. Despite shortages of heat and power outages, the Ukrainian people survived military attacks during the winter.
In April 2023 there was a completely different attitude. People were more optimistic and looking forward to the future. We often heard phrases like “when the war is over…”, “after victory…” or “after the end of the war we will…”. The war is still going on, but now people’s focus is turned towards the future which looks a bit brighter and more hopeful. The people of Ukraine understood that the victory in this unjust and unprovoked war is possible. Ukrainians knew that millions of people prayed and are still praying for the end of the war and for the restoration of peace and for justice.
We saw signs of hope and resilience as we drove by towns and villages damaged from the war. Streets were cleared of the debris and rubble, many houses were repaired and fences fixed. Black traces from fires on buildings were painted over or somehow covered if repairs were impossible. There were flowers getting ready to bloom. We visited the town of Irpin where we engaged in ministry and some of our ministry partners and friends live. Irpin is about 10 miles west of Kyiv. During the first five to six weeks of the war, there was a lot of damage and destruction from fierce fighting, bombing and shelling of residential areas.
On the side of the road in Irpin, we visited a makeshift memorial/museum of the damaged and burned civilian cars from those weeks of fighting. Some of those cars were carrying people who were fleeing, trying to escape the fighting. That was a somber and sad memorial exemplifying the cruelty of the war and the reality of evil in this world. As a sign of defiance but also as a sign of hope and resilience, an unknown artist draw sunflowers on the burned down vehicles. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. The drawings are in color and the plants drawn are fully grown. Sunflowers tend to follow the sun and the light. There is hope in the future for Ukrainian people. Yes, there are still dark hours ahead and the summer has not arrived there yet, there is still lots of work ahead for Ukrainians, but the spring is already there, and the summer is coming.
Gennady and wife, Mina, Podgaisky are Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel serving in Ukraine since 2002. Learn more about their ministry at cbf.net/podgaisky.