{"id":6545,"date":"2016-06-04T12:29:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-04T09:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=6545"},"modified":"2016-06-04T12:29:51","modified_gmt":"2016-06-04T09:29:51","slug":"the-heavy-toll-of-ukraines-war-on-soldiers-and-civilians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/the-heavy-toll-of-ukraines-war-on-soldiers-and-civilians\/","title":{"rendered":"The Heavy Toll Of Ukraine&#8217;s War on Soldiers and Civilians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As the war in Eastern Ukraine continues to drag on the country is slowly becoming aware of the heavy mental, emotional, and psychological costs brought about by brutal fighting, death, and destruction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Warning: The video below does contain some very graphic scenes.<\/strong><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_SlW3OPy5Og\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Recently I came across this report from Vice News where soldiers and others who have returned from the war are interviewed. While there is more help for those who have suffered physically, there is often little or no help for those who have psychological trauma.<\/p>\n<p>As a result many turn to alcohol and narcotics as a relief from their mental pain.<\/p>\n<p>Watching the this report reminded me of the great need for the church to step in and offer the ultimate answer to all these problems, which is found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that many churches and church leaders are not prepared to deal with those who have severe psychological trauma. Yet the need is critical, there are literally hundreds of thousands of men and women in Ukraine who are suffering mentally and emotionally as a result of this war.<\/p>\n<p>These people are seeking help and answers. It&#8217;s an opportunity to offer hope that the church can not afford to miss.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4pntdmekfJE\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In April our team of missionaries traveled to Eastern Ukraine. We also invited a pastor from Bosnia to come and share his experience as a soldier who fought for 3 years in a brutal war and as a pastor who ministered in a war zone.<\/p>\n<p>Our goal was to encourage and equip church leaders from the war zone to effectively minister to those who have experienced the trauma of war.<\/p>\n<p>This is just a start!<\/p>\n<p>Last month I went back to Eastern Ukraine specifically to train these believers how to clearly and effectively share the Gospel. Without the Gospel, any other kind of help is only temporary!<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-OzaYLyn9VI\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The war in Eastern Ukraine might not be in the news headlines any more but the need for the church to help the traumatized, preach the Gospel, and offer home is greater than ever!<\/p>\n<h3>How you can help<\/h3>\n<p>Here are a few specific ways that you can actively pray for us and churches here who are ministering to those affected by the war.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pray Gospel of Light Church in Eastern Ukraine as they continue to minister to those on the edge of the war zone.<\/li>\n<li>Pray for churches in the occupied areas, for peace and provision, (prices are much higher in the occupied territories)<\/li>\n<li>Pray for opportunities this Fall in Eastern Ukraine including more specific training\u00a0for church leaders.<\/li>\n<li>Pray for our outreach to disabled refugees here in Odessa, especially for their housing needs which are uncertain at this point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the war in Eastern Ukraine continues to drag on the country is slowly becoming aware of the heavy mental,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,370,193],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","category-new","category-ukraine-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-04-at-12.26.48-PM.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-1Hz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7471,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/heaviest-fighting-since-2015-in-eastern-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":6545,"position":0},"title":"Heaviest Fighting Since 2015 in Eastern Ukraine","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"February 3, 2017","format":"video","excerpt":"War has returned with a vengeance to Eastern Ukraine! Not that it ever really left but only quieted down for a time. Russian back separatists have been pounding the city of Avdeevka for nearly a week now. The death toll of both soldiers and civilians is climbing at an alarming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ukraine&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/obstrel_001_650x410.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/obstrel_001_650x410.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/obstrel_001_650x410.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28333,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/hope-on-ukraines-front-lines-oleksandr-radin\/","url_meta":{"origin":6545,"position":1},"title":"Hope On Ukraine&#8217;s Front Lines: Oleksandr Radin","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"December 13, 2025","format":"video","excerpt":"What does gospel ministry look like when war becomes daily life? *Read the whole story In this video, Pastor Oleksandr Radin shares how God is working in Eastern Ukraine through The Story of Hope\u2014a chronological Bible study that helps people understand the gospel from Genesis to Revelation. In the midst\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4425,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/the-toll-of-human-suffering-in-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":6545,"position":2},"title":"The Toll of Human Suffering in Ukraine","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"September 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Russia's annexation of Crimea and the ongoing war and violence in Eastern Ukraine have left in their wake a tidal wave of human suffering and pain. The violence has killed or injured thousands and uprooted hundreds of thousands! The toll has been especially heavy upon the elderly and the orphans.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Ap-Photo-Dmitry-Lovetsky.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Ap-Photo-Dmitry-Lovetsky.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Ap-Photo-Dmitry-Lovetsky.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23644,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/he-used-to-be-a-regular-pastor\/","url_meta":{"origin":6545,"position":3},"title":"He Used to Be a Regular Pastor","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"September 13, 2025","format":"video","excerpt":"What drives a Ukrainian pastor to trade his pulpit for the frontlines of war? In this interview, Chaplain Andriy Zalishuk shares his extraordinary journey from pastoring a small church to walking alongside Ukrainian soldiers in the trenches. Hear how missile strikes, destroyed cities, and the cries of refugees motivated him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4759,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/another-bomb-blast-rocks-odessa-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":6545,"position":4},"title":"Another Bomb Blast Rocks Odessa, Ukraine","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"December 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The second bomb blast in a week happened today in Odessa. (You can read about the previous one here) The bomb exploded in the middle of the night and did much damage to the building. Thankfully no one was injured. This appears to be another terrorist attack since the targeted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ukraine&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/bomb-2-odessa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/bomb-2-odessa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/bomb-2-odessa.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5226,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/donetsk-war-on-protestant-churches\/","url_meta":{"origin":6545,"position":5},"title":"Donetsk&#8217; War on Protestant Churches","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Is there a targeted effort to take out Protestant Churches in the Eastern Ukraine war-zone? In this video reporter Simon Ostrovsky\u00a0recently traveled to Donetsk and visited several Protestant church buildings that are now under the control of Donetsk People's Republic soldiers. One pastor describes how armed men came to their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/new\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/propoganda.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/propoganda.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/propoganda.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6545"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6555,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6545\/revisions\/6555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}