Vinnytsia (Al)
Just several days ago we visited the beautiful city of Vinnytsia, Ukraine. We spent time with the young team there, mostly made up of orphans who were taken in by the couple who founded the base. They have a wonderful ministry in the city and it has become a city of refuge for the many fleeing westward. We had a great lunch on the square with the airplane monument and walked the promenade filled with families enjoying the nice sunny day. They drove us to Ternopil where we loaded their van with goods for their ministry to refugees. Today I awoke to this terrible news of the bombing of a building in their city center. So far 22 were counted dead and many more still unaccounted for.
Pictured above, YWAM Center, The leadership team, Loading up in Ternopil
Ira (Kyiv)
10:45 am. A missile strike on Vinnytsia, a city hundreds of kilometers away from the front line that’s become a shelter for many internally displaced people. I’ve gone through that city many times and have friends who live there. This morning, Russia launched four high-precision Kalibr missiles (allowed deviation from the target is only 3-4 meters / 10 feet). Two of them were shot down by the air-defense forces, and two hit the city center, one of the busiest intersections. They hit an office center, a diagnostic clinic, and a parking lot. As of now, 23 people (including 3 children) have been found dead, but only 6 of them have been identified – the heat from the fire and the explosion wave tore bodies to pieces leaving them unrecognizable. 66 people (including 3 children) were hospitalized, 34 of them are in serious condition, and 5 are in critical condition. 39 people are missing.
In today’s picture, you see 4-year-old Liza. Her mom really wanted to have kids. During one of the prenatal screenings, the doctors discovered that the child has Down’s Syndrome and recommended her mom terminate the pregnancy to avoid “unnecessary torture.” But her mom kept the baby, loved her, and was doing her best to help her child’s development. They went to Vinnytsia from Kyiv, hoping to escape the war. This morning, they went to a speech therapy class. An hour later, Liza was killed by the Russian missile. You may have seen a sensitive content picture from today with a lifeless child’s body next to a stroller – that was Liza. Her mom lost a foot and was taken to a hospital in critical condition without regaining consciousness and unaware of her baby’s passing.
As one of the missiles hit a neurological diagnostics clinic, most seriously injured people are the doctors and patients of that clinic.
Such terrorist attacks are meant to cause panic, fear, and despair. Instead, they cause anger and resolve. We grieve the losses, but that makes us long for justice even more.
Please pray for Vinnytsia today, pray for our team. Pray for all of Ukraine in this reign of terror that inflicts the people with fear.
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team