Ahead of the first strikes by Russia onto Kyiv on Thursday, Ukraine's Christians and Jews united to pray amid the terrifying Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian Bible Society's Anatoliy Raychynets took to Facebook earlier this month to share photos of Ukraine's Christians and Jews joining together in prayer. They gathered to pray for an "appeal to the Almighty for the protection of Ukraine" in St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv.
According to Faithwire, Kyiv's chief rabbi, Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich invited Christian leaders to join the Jewish community in praying Psalm 31, which is a hymn of protection over the brewing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
"For me, as a pastor, that Psalm...well, I read it differently now, because it's about our current situation in Ukraine," Raychynets told Eternity News. "This ancient prayer - written several thousand years ago - now we see is so alive, is living."
Raychynets also shed light into how Chrisitans and Jews unite to pray amid the Russian invasion and what they are praying for. He remarked, "We encourage them to stand for peace and to pray for peace. We don't pray for victory over our enemy. We pray that the diplomacy of Ukraine and the whole world will bring a solution."
"We pray that God's miracle happens because we know that it must be a miracle to stop this. So we read the Bible with people and pray," Raychynets explained.
For hope, Raychynets said they are turning to the Scripture of John 1:5, which says, "That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it."
Ukraine's Christians and Jews are turning to prayer amidst the unprovoked attack by Russia on the Ukrainian capital that began on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine after weeks of setting up troops on the Russia-Ukraine border. Early on Thursday, Ukraine suffered air raids and missile strikes that killed more than 100 people.
Al Jazeera reported that Putin warned in a pre-recorded TV address that any country that tries to interfere with Russia will experience "consequences you have never seen." Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to Twitter to denounce Putin's move, calling it a "war of aggression" and promising that Ukraine would "defend itself and win."
BBC reported that Russia on Thursday invaded via land, air, and sea, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as "a path of evil." He also promised that Ukraine would defend itself. The Times of Israel reported that up to 137 have already died on the first day of the Russian invasion.
The United Nations has already pledged $20 million to boost humanitarian operations in Ukraine following the Russian invasion. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the announcement on Thursday evening, lamenting that there are "deaths rising" as the world sees "images of fear, anguish and terror in every corner of Ukraine."
"People - everyday innocent people - always pay the highest price," Guterres lamented. Meanwhile in the U.S., President Joe Biden is alerting Americans of the repercussions of the Russian invasion, which include a gas hike, CNN reported. The Democratic leader also refused to engage U.S. forces in the Ukraine conflict, but assured that it would "defend" its NATO allies in the east.
Biden affirmed, "These are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another."
