From our friends at World Magazine (wng.org) and Mission Eurasia (missioneurasia.org) – Nadia Matviichuk’s husband shook her awake at 6 a.m. on Thursday in their home in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia had invaded, he said. She needed to pack so they could be prepared to leave. Her friend, a police officer, messaged her saying, it’s serious—Russia has really invaded. Nadia, a translator for the Kyiv-based Christian nonprofit Mission Eurasia, felt panic coming on; she wanted to get out as soon as possible. She woke her daughters, who are 16 and 12, and told them to start packing. She started throwing things in her suitcase as her husband packed their documents into a little bag. He questioned whether they should wait and see how things develop.
“No, no. We have to go!” Nadia said. An hour later, they were throwing their suitcases into their small black SUV. They could hear bombs and shots in the distance. Nadia didn’t think this would ever happen to them. She was leaving her home, a small, one-story house with a giant fireplace in the middle built in 1956 that she and her husband had restored. She didn’t know if it would still be there when she went back—or if she’d get to go back. They got out of the city, and she finally let her breath out. She hadn’t brushed her teeth or her hair. She didn’t know what was in her suitcase.
Thursday morning, Russian forces began advancing into Ukraine after building up a military force 150,000 strong along the country’s borders. Artillery descended from the north, east, and south. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not attack the cities. But after several days of fighting at key military and government installations, skirmishes began on the outskirts of the capital of Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned residents who had not already evacuated to stay inside and prepare for fighting in the streets.
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SOURCE: Assist News Service, Jeff Thompson
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