Baptist Press: At 4 years, ‘pure miracle’ Ukraine still standing against Putin’s war
By Diana Chandler - Posted at Baptist Press:
Published February 24, 2026
IRPIN, Ukraine (BP) – For Christians in Ukraine, the battle is existential, a spiritual onus to spread the Gospel where they are planted as darkness tries to snuff their witness.That’s Igor Bandura’s take as the nation enters its fifth year of sustained war against Russia. Bandura is a pastor in Irpin and vice president of international affairs for the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christian-Baptists (Ukrainian Baptist Union).
“We do not have choice. If we would stop (fighting), we will stop to exist. We believe it is God’s will for us to be born on this land and to preach the Gospel in this land. We don’t want to become refugees and spread all around the world,” Bandura told Baptist Press fresh from a visit to Washington for Ukrainian Week, coinciding with the International Summit on Religious Freedom. “We believe we should remain there and do what God wants us to do as Christians in Ukraine.”
Bandura is not alone. Christian advocates supporting Ukraine see God’s hand in sustaining the smaller nation against Russia’s behemoth military increasingly targeting Ukraine’s power grid, water supply and faith.
“We have no choice. We will never live under Putin’s regime,” Kyiv resident Anna Shvetsova, chief operating officer of Ukraine Freedom Project, told Baptist Press. “When you talk to soldiers, I didn’t meet a soldier who said let’s stop this war and let’s give up on territories or let’s start negotiations under conditions that are not beneficial for Ukraine. People are ready to fight because we’ve seen this before. We’ve seen Putin’s regime before. We don’t want back.”
