Entering my headspace. You have been warned. The war in Ukraine - Join the Relief NetworkWho will we be and what will we do in a generation defining moment?
There are turning points in history that can mobilize, redeem and cleanse humanity. I have been through my fair share of local violent humanitarian crises and civil wars. Make no mistake, the war in Ukraine is not just a regional struggle between two countries. It is a spiritual and moral turning point for an entire civilization. Who we are and what we do collectively about this will define us for generations.
Kyiv, Ukraine On day two of the war, when the shock and paralyzing disbelief subsided, we started to build the Ukraine relief network with Christian churches on the ground finding, connecting, and helping refugees. On day four, we had the website, the technology, process, and Christians on the ground in Ukraine ready to receive and distribute aid to thousands who escaped bombs and rockets with not much more than the clothes on their backs. On day six aid started flowing and it needs to continue to flow for the foreseeable future. Will you help us?
We are posting daily updates on the AMF Facebook page and pictures of new groups and families we are reaching on the Ukraine Relief Fund page. I’m on the phone with Ukraine all day every day. I will spare you the unfiltered gruesome details from the ground. Instead, I will tell you stories of faith, compassion, and impact the relief network is having every day. My mother and father in the faith. Tammy and Andy Fleming, their kids Britain, Max, and baby Zak. “Yesterday evening at 6:40 pm there was a serious blast in central Kiev that shook our windows even though it was 11 kilometers away. Max’s brother Dima and his wife actually saw the explosion from their apartment window. (picture below) It is so sad to see the ruin and human suffering being dropped on this beautiful city and nation.”
Andy, Tammy Fleming and friends in the bomb shelter As of today, the whole family safely crossed the border with Hungary. As the train was leaving the train station was hit by a rocket. Matvey Ganapolsky - a close personal friend and prominent journalist was in the outskirts of Kyiv until recently. He stepped out of his house to let me hear the artillery and machine-gun fire less than a mile away. He was the only one with a basement in his subdivision, it was full of kids from the neighborhood. An hour ago, after a horrific sleepless night, he was still in a car moving slowly towards the western Ukraine city of Lviv. He told me the rocket attack last night was of unimaginable intensity and the caravan of civilian cars trying to escape was caught in a crossfire so intense he didn’t think they were going to make it several. Matvey will be back on air in Lviv as soon as possible.
Matvey and I in his kitchen in Moscow - years before he had to leave Russia for Ukraine In Russia, the two remaining large independent media outlets were shut down. I have friends in both. Below is a picture of my last interview on TV Rain with my friend and journalist Misha Kozyrev.
My last interview on TV Rain with journalist Misha Kozyrev The chief editor of TV Rain left the country after receiving credible threats. Here’s the video. Meanwhile, the relief network is going forward full steam - providing food, shelter, medicine, warm clothes, and other vital supplies to families, groups, children trying to stay safe in villages, rented rooms, homes of relatives throughout Ukraine.
Join the network, fuel the network, expand the network!
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