Displaying items by tag: Europe

In light of the Russian attack on Ukraine, many politicians have spoken of a turning point in history. ‘Rarely does evil show its face so openly,’ said one daily newspaper. Our society has largely ceased to reckon with the reality of evil, so how do we confront it? Do we allow ourselves to be infected with negative thoughts and feelings, even hatred? A Ukrainian brother’s prayer can guide us to real prayer. He prayed that, despite the brutal war, hearts would not harden but remain soft. May the Holy Spirit transform all stony hearts. The Conference on the Future of Europe has presented its final report, containing 49 proposals about Europe’s future. In the entire text of 336 pages the words ‘religion’, ‘faith’, and ‘church’ are not mentioned. Faith having a significance in the future of Europe is no longer considered.

One million Ukrainians have fled to Germany since Russia's invasion. On the outskirts of Berlin, almost 1,000 people sleep in giant heated tents on a former airport runway. The German capital is struggling to house Ukraine's refugees properly. As winter deepens and Russia continues attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, authorities are hastily preparing more emergency shelters in anticipation of up to 10,000 more Ukrainians. Germany initially extended a warm welcome, but there are now growing concerns about how best to accommodate such a large number of people. Around 100 Ukrainians arrive every day at the main refugee reception centre in the airport terminal. Workers in brightly coloured tabards lead them to departure halls filled with trestle tables offering food, medical aid and a bed for a ‘temporary’ stay. But many will stay in bunks in shared cubicles or tents for longer than a few days. Permanent accommodation is getting harder to find.

Polish video game company PlayWay SA has announced it will launch the first instalment of the world’s first game that allows players to simulate the life of Jesus, including performing miracles and battling Satan. The prologue, I Am Jesus Christ, is a stand-alone game which serves as an introduction; it will be available from 1 December. The full version, which will be published in the second quarter of next year, will allow players to walk in the footsteps of Jesus ‘from birth to resurrection’, recreating key events from his life, such as the Last Supper. Players will be able to perform miracles and carry out quests, including a fight with Satan in the desert. Along the way, players discover Jesus’s story from his perspective and will be able to cure the sick, help the needy and interact with over sixty characters, including Christ’s disciples.

In under two weeks, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became a full-fledged humanitarian crisis. The turmoil is affecting gospel workers in Ukraine and throughout the region in significant ways. The Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) reports a sense of excitement. Kherson, a very important city to Ukrainians, is now accessible. Battlefields are constantly changing, with villages and cities burned to the ground. People are hiding in their basements: drones, missiles, and rockets are attacking their infrastructure, and they are bracing for a terrible winter. A new SGA initiative, Heat and Hope, will provide heating, blankets, and food to Ukrainians. They work through over 240 local churches across the embattled regions. They will not only be centres of warmth when all else has been destroyed, but centres of hope. In the middle of a bitter cold winter, these churches are proclaiming the hope and love of Jesus.

Britain and France have now agreed to unite to stop illegal migrants from crossing the Channel. Interior minister Suella Braverman said Britain faced an ‘invasion’ from people in small boats, saying, ‘It is in the interests of the UK and French governments to solve this problem together. There are no quick fixes, but this arrangement means we can have more gendarmes patrolling French beaches and ensure UK and French officers work hand in hand to stop people smugglers.’ There will be 40% more UK-funded officers patrolling French beaches in the next five months. A task force will focus on reversing the rise in Albanian nationals and organised crime groups exploiting illegal routes. British officers will work in French-led control rooms and on the ground to improve coordination and intelligence sharing. There will be drones, detection dog teams, CCTV, and helicopters to help discover and prevent crossings, plus reception and removal centres in France to prevent journeys to the UK of economic migrants.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major exporter of grain, led to the blocking of all grain shipments until an agreement called the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in Istanbul between Ukraine, Russia and the UN. This agreement will expire on 19 November unless renewed. Renewal negotiations were being facilitated by the UN throughout October until the 29th, when a drone attack on Russian naval ships prompted Russia to suspend participation. Talks resumed on 2 November, with hopes to extend the agreement for a year. On 17 November Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure said the initiative would be prolonged, but only for 120 days.

Russia has ordered its military to pull out of Kherson, the only regional capital it has captured since invading Ukraine. Russia will entirely leave the western bank of Dnipro River, saying it wasn’t possible to continue supplying the city. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is moving ‘very carefully’ in response to the announcement, fearing a Russian trap.

Attacks on Nord Stream gas pipelines, on Poland’s Druzhba pipeline (the most important oil pipeline from Russia to Western Europe), on submarine cables in France and the north Atlantic, and on the German railway show the need for increased protection of critical infrastructure. Loss of energy has extreme and immediate consequences for homes and industry. Three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, damaged by saltwater infiltration, are probably no longer usable. There have already been cyber-attacks on wind farms, and access to coal-fired power plants is being blocked by extremists. Most recently Russia damaged 1/3rd of Ukraine’s power plants. Germany has allowed a Chinese shipping company to enter the port of Hamburg, giving China access to sensitive European maritime traffic information.

1,500+ new graves have been dug at a mass burial site near Mariupol in Ukraine. Over 4,600 graves have been dug there since the beginning of the war. Officials believe at least 25,000 people were killed in fighting there, and 5,000-7,000 died after their homes were bombed. Witnesses have seen Russian authorities removing bodies from destroyed buildings and taking them away for burial, over 1,500 according to new satellite images. From the start of the war Mariupol, a strategic target, was pounded relentlessly from the air and from the ground. Pray for the thousands of survivors who have now escaped the city, but do not know where their families’ bodies are. Pray for those unable to get that information, and pray for those who suspect their loved ones are still buried beneath the rubble of their houses.

Fighting and shelling continues in eastern and southern Ukraine, and strikes in other areas have caused additional destruction of civilian infrastructure and a large number of civilian deaths and injuries. The civilian toll has reached 14,000 confirmed deaths since the beginning of the war. Nearly 18 million people (40% of Ukraine’s population) need humanitarian assistance, and the situation is expected to deteriorate further in the winter months. As villages and towns are being liberated from Russian occupation in Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, significant needs remain - and the Ukrainian advances may halt with the arrival of winter. Many communities still lack access to clean water, electricity, and mobile phone service. Many have limited food supplies. The clean-up and rebuilding effort will take some time. Pray for: The church and ministry networks across Ukraine and neighbouring countries who are mobilising to bring food, clothing, first aid and medicine; evacuation and temporary accommodation assistance; psychological and spiritual support; rebuilding damaged properties and preparing for winter.