Breaking Through the Sound of Air Raid Sirens
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Breaking Through the Sound of Air Raid Sirens Appeal of the Representatives of Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Educational Institutions to the World Evangelical Community Regarding the War of the Russian Federation against UkraineIt is the ninth month since February 24, 2022, when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ninth year of Russian war against Ukraine since the annexation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in early 2014.We, the representatives of Ukrainian evangelical theological educational institutions, have witnessed massive war crimes, including numerous acts of violence, irrational cruelty, inhuman treatment of civilians, destruction of cities, executions of peaceful civilians, rapes, pillaging, and plundering.This act of aggression caused a massive humanitarian crisis.More than 11 million Ukrainians crossed the border, and 7.7 million became refugees; the majority of those were women and children.More than 8 million people left their homes and are internally displaced now.More than 17 million, including 3 million children, are in urgent humanitarian need without access to food, water, health care, and other essentials.There has been catastrophic damage to civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, energy supply lines, and power plants.2,714 educational institutions have suffered bombing and shelling, and 332 have been destroyed completely.270 religious buildings were damaged by Russian attacks, including buildings belonging to evangelical communities.Russia's grave violations include kidnapping and torture, child trafficking, injury, and killing of civilians: about 1,000 girls and boys have been killed or injured in Ukraine.About twenty percent of Ukrainian territory is occupied now, and attempts are made to annex these territories.The atrocities of war are still taking place.Russia has created the largest war and the greatest displacement crisis in Europe since World War II.The war has caused and will intensify economic instability and continues to terrorize the entire world.The blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports stopped the shipping of grain, which caused a food crisis and put millions of people in the world's poorest countries on the brink of hunger.A malfunction at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently controlled by Russian forces, could lead to the release of radiation, affecting large portions of Europe.Russia's assault, motivated by coldly pragmatic grounds, results in profound divergence between not only Russia and Ukraine but East and West.As a deliberate crime against a sovereign country, it causes
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4315927424