The ongoing invasion of Ukraine by a neighboring world power that began February 24, 2022, has displaced millions of residents. The number of Ukrainians living as refugees in other countries has swelled into the millions. As of June 21, 2022, the United Nations has recorded 5,261,278 Ukrainians who have registered as refugees throughout Europe. The number and speed with which people are fleeing their homes in Ukraine reveal that this war has caused the fastest forced population movement since World War II.

With your help, Nazarene missionaries, pastors, and volunteers are partnering with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries to help displaced people travel to safe areas, secure shelter, and acquire food and supplies.

Many Ukrainian senior adults are being forced to make the difficult decision to stay home or leave; either choice holds challenges for securing basic needs. (Read more about the challenges facing senior adults in Ukraine here.)

Nyura* and her husband lived with their daughter and family in Chernihiv, Ukraine, when the war began. Early in the conflict, their city came under attack. Thankfully, the household of seven had sought shelter elsewhere the day their home was destroyed by rocket fire. With no house to return to, Nyura and her family crossed the border to Moldova.

Nyura’s family found food and shelter through the outreach of members of the Nazarene church in Chisinau, led by Sergey and Irina Talalay. Church members have been transporting, sheltering, and feeding Ukrainians since the beginning of the conflict. The Chisinau church has also provided hygiene items and medicine when possible.

Compassionate workers from other countries have also stepped up to serve displaced people. The Blessings Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Romania, has housed Ukrainians living as refugees since the start of the conflict in late February. Churches in Hungary have collected and distributed clothes, medical supplies, groceries, and baby care items for hundreds displaced by the war. And in Poland, workers strategically positioned a distribution warehouse at the border for delivering food and Crisis Care Kits to people living in Ukraine, and reopened a coffeehouse as a center for Ukrainian women and their children to find support and grow in relationship with other refugees.

Learn more about the response in Ukraine and how you can help this ongoing ministry.

*Name is changed to protect privacy.