YWAM Kyiv
Through Instagram someone contacted us, “Please help!” A family asked us if we could help a village in the Kherson Oblast that hadn’t been receiving any humanitarian aid. This village is at the end of a 70 km road that takes 4 hours to get to by car because the road is so terrible and there are mines on both sides. This is a village that has been forgotten by so many because honestly it is just so difficult to get there.
 
At Christmas time, our team brought gifts for the children, but this weekend we are going back! A small team of 6 people will travel to this village with food boxes. Each box can supply a family for almost a month. We will also bring more gifts for children because there are many in this village. Our time will be spent visiting people, sharing the gospel, praying for people and blessing them with music that worships God. Please pray for our trip there tomorrow to be safe and fruitful.
 
Please pray for this team and the many others who are ministering in these kinds of difficult places. Pray for our volunteer chaplains ministering on the front. Pray that they will bring hope to these places. It will be especially important during this Easter season.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

​Ira Kapitonova
How long, O Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
Psalm 13:1
 
"How long, o Lord?" These words were on my mind even before I opened today's psalm.
There were more attacks on Kharkiv. In fact, over the past 24 hours in Kharkiv, the air raid sirens sounded 10 times for a total of 10 hours. They bombed the city with blunt (free-falling, unguided) aerial bombs. That was the first attack on this city with this weapon, but the Russians mastered their skills with these bombs when they were destroying Mariupol two years ago. One person was killed, and 19 were wounded as the bombs hit a playground in residential quarters.
 
I read someone's question today, and it stayed with me, "Will there be a generation in Ukraine that wouldn't have to worry about fighting Russia or survival?" Oh, how I long for that day to come!

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
Psalm 13:5
 
Can we pray toward that end, that there will be a generation that will not know war? In both Ukraine and Russia. Pray for Peace, a lasting peace.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Today I want to introduce you to a person about whom you can write ballads (or maybe they already exist! )
This is a, one  kind of man. Yarik , or as many call him Ksenya…
A man who can meet a homeless man on the street in the morning, drink coffee with him, eat shawarma, talk about his soul, and maybe put him in a rehabilitation center. And on the evening of the same day, a group from Canada comes to Ksenya, who is filming a documentary about the war for Netflix.
Meanwhile, he still had a meeting with the mayor of the city, with an international delegation, with the injured in the hospital, twenty calls for help and ten messages of thanks!
And that's just for today.
And last night, he returned from his volunteer Chaplains trip from the front line. Took the guys a car, helmets, drones, boxes of goods that came from all over Ukraine.
And tomorrow he goes on tour to play bass at a concert with Marina Krut.
And in the meantime, in a spare minute, he organized a "Veteran Taxi" to take the wounded to the hospital, and sometimes drives the taxi himself.
Still Ksenya has a beautiful wife and daughter, and he finds time for them too!
Man-Multimaker, a Ternopil Robin Hood who works far and beyond Ternopil. But there is a nuance - he does not steal from the rich to give to the poor. The rich themselves give it to him)
In the next presidential election, if Senya's wife agrees and he participates in them, I will vote for Ksenya! ). 
 
We have written about Yarik a number of times sharing the many ministries he is involved with and asking for prayer for him. He is one of our leaders in Ternopil. The above  is a tribute written by a friend of his and it’s a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man, who in the time of trouble has risen to new heights in giving, ministry and sharing his incredible gifts with the needy. He represents many of our ywammers living and ministering in difficult times. Can I ask you to pray specifically for Yarik and his family and our other leaders and staff at this time.
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked
and the one who loves violence.
Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
Psalm 11:5-6 ESV
 
It feels like I am repeating myself with all these missile strikes. Today, they attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles. There were just a few seconds between the siren and the explosions. Most people didn't have time to go to a shelter. Thankfully, these missiles were intercepted by our air defense (which is a miracle for this type of missile). However, the debris still hit several buildings, including one of the facilities of our art academy in downtown Kyiv.
Kyiv wasn't the only city targeted today. Odesa, Kharkiv, and Sumy region — these are just the most recent ones on my news feed.
 
Thankfully, our school is on spring break now, so all the children could be safe with their parents. But one of the videos shared today was a video of children quickly yet calmly walking to a bomb shelter to the sound of explosions — the children who are used to the war. This is something that makes me really mad. The Lord will avenge.
 
Pray for these cities that are being relentlessly bombed. Pray for these children who learn to live with this like zombies, pray that they will not be ruined for life. Pray for a good defense from these missiles.

Al Akimoff and the Slavci Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart;
you will incline your ear
to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Psalm 10:17-18
I barely slept last night. My brain was alert (and my heart was anxious, to be honest), so I kept tracing missile routes and praying for the affected regions. I heard the explosions of our air defense shooting down missiles over Kyiv (about 10 of them), but they sounded more like distant thunder.
 
There were 29 cruise missiles and 28 drones launched at the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kyiv, Volynska, and Lviv regions. They were targeting energy infrastructure, natural gas storage, and port infrastructure.
 
Once the morning came, I felt exhausted yet ready for the day. After a tough night on Friday, our school was celebrating our traditional Patriot of Ukraine day, so seeing kids in blue and yellow helped me survive the day. And today, after church, we got another share of our life-asserting activities. We got to visit an exhibit dedicated to Alla Horska, a Soviet-time Ukrainian artist brutally killed by the communist regime. Now, her legacy is being destroyed one more time as most of her mosaics are in the currently occupied parts of Ukraine. However, seeing this exhibit and crowds of people attending it (in a downtown area after a night of terror) gave me hope.
 
Please pray for these cities and for the electrical power structures that are being destroyed. It takes months to repair them and it seems that one of them is beyond repair. Pray for a team on the frontline distributing Bibles and bringing hope to the many young men on the front.
​
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
Urgent Prayer needed!
Please, pray for Ukraine now!
It is another night of terror. There were lots of drones attacking different regions (especially energy system). Now there are missiles in the air and more bombers taking off in Russia.
Lord, shield your children
 
This is a time for urgent prayer! Please pray and ask others to join you as we pray for this attack that has gone on for these past few days with missles being hurled at all parts of Ukraine.
Pray for protection, pray that they miss their mark, pray that they do not detonate. Pray for
Safety. 

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
Psalm 6:6-7
Oh, how I can relate to these words of David! And how I hate to write posts like this, but how can I give up? The least I can do is share the pain of my people and the truth.
Today, Russia attacked Kharkiv with missiles. Once again, they hit civilians. As of now, 9 people are injured, 5 are killed, and 5 more are still missing. The interviews with people watching the rescue operation are blood-chilling. Someone received a text message from a friend trapped in the burning building: "I'm suffocating. Goodbye." A woman received a phone call from her mother, who said, "We were hit by a missile. I'm buried under the furniture. I'm burning. Forgive me for everything."
How can this keep happening?!

The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Psalm 6:9-10
Can we believe this prayer by David  and pray it again and again. Please don’t be weary in praying, let’s keep believing and persevering. Pray for the people in these cities.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
In my first post about this war (that, ironically, was written two days before the war started), I said that this war against Ukraine is not about territories or politics, but it is a war of worldviews and values. Every day I can see proof of this.
 
Many people from the liberated villages (or those who were able to evacuate during the occupation) say that Russian soldiers were appalled that most Ukrainian villages have outdoor lights, paved roads, and running water. They were looting Ukrainian homes to send their wives kitchen appliances and underwear. They were "hunting" animals in petting zoos and torturing dogs and cats just for fun. Again and again, in their intercepted conversations we hear a phrase, "Why do they think they can have a better life than we do? Let them pay for daring to live nice!" This is part of their motivation as they senselessly destroy anything good in Ukraine.
 
That is why I rejoice whenever I hear about the way our people respond to this destruction. I rejoice when I see pictures of volunteers cleaning the streets of Irpin from rubble for life to triumph over death. I have tears of joy when I read about a lady from a town in the west of Ukraine sending young trees to Kharkiv to be planted in the destroyed park. I rejoice when I see pictures of our soldiers with pets they find and rescue in the war zone because it shows their values and the condition of their hearts. I am glad that there's this enormous gap between us and "them" because it unmistakenly shows what we are fighting for.
 
Please, keep praying for Ukraine. There were a lot of missile strikes on Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv yesterday and today. Russian troops are regrouping in preparation for an attack – pray for their utter defeat. Pray for Mariupol – may it be invincible under God's protection. Pray for the values and light to prevail over emptiness and darkness.
​
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Minististries Team
 
Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Proverbs 12:10

Like millions of other Ukrainians, in the early weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Nataliia (not her real name) was forced from her home. But Nataliia didn't just leave her home and relatives behind, she also surrendered her profession, giving up her job of 20 years as a teacher. Now she spends her time giving online classes to hundreds of her former students. The risks for her, and her remote class, are huge.
 
This is how Ukrainian children are educated in territories occupied by Russia. They are taught that Ukraine isn't a real country - and Nataliia says, if a child challenges the curriculum, their parents are threatened with beatings or torture. It's why Nataliia, with her former colleagues, created an online teaching platform to try to "save the minds of Ukrainian children". Hundreds of families have taken up Nataliia's offer to teach the Ukrainian curriculum - and numbers are growing.
 
The longer Russia occupies Melitopol, the greater the risk children living there will be indoctrinated.
 
Please for these teachers as they take the risk to educate Ukrainian children. Pray for protection of the families who want their children to be taught by these teachers.
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people!
Psalm 3:6-8
 
The Russian army has set to destroy the areas closest to the border or the frontline. Today, I saw several reports about the Sumy region — daily bombings, villages cut from the main road, evacuation impossible, sick and elderly left behind... My heart is weaping as I still refuse to believe such cruelty is possible.
Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson — these regions are in our prayers every day, for they have suffered enough.
Arise, o Lord!
 
Pray for these cities that are feeling the wrath, pray for those who remain there in the midst of all this suffering. Pray for the many who stood to protest the war and the regime in Russia during these elections. Pray for the liberation of Russia and freedom for Ukraine. 

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team