Roman Ulyanenko and Yaroslava Vilko are pastors of our KJMC.Stuttgart congregation. Until 2022, they served in Kyiv: Roman was engaged in rehabilitation ministry, and Yaroslava was and remains an elder of KJMC.

The start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine caught Roman and Yaroslava in Israel, where they were on a short trip. They had bought tickets and planned to return to Kyiv, where they carried out their main ministry, on February 24, 2022.

On that day, like millions of others, they experienced shock, pain, confusion, and uncertainty about what to do next. Several days in Israel, spent in prayer for Ukraine and seeking understanding about what to do next, seemed like an eternity. In Ukraine, in Kyiv, where enemy troops were advancing, were their family, children, parents, and a young grandson.

A few days later, a decision was made to fly to Poland and organize assistance at the border for those who found themselves in an unbelievable, freezing collapse, consisting of multi-million-strong columns of refugees. Previously, it was impossible to even imagine that the word “refugee” could be applied to Ukrainians.