Tragedy of New Life Baptist Church in Ukraine under Russian Occupation

My name is Dadimov Yevhen Ivanovich. This used to be the New Life Baptist Church, where we held services as usual until the invasion started, and then the war disrupted all of our work. In this church, there has been a lot of collective suffering experienced by our people under Russian occupation.

When the war began, our church was helping people flee, assisting those in need with accommodation and transportation to evacuate. Initially, there was heavy shelling by Russia, and we sought refuge in the underground shelter. Then, on the 7th of March, around 2 am, there was a powerful explosion, and the building caught fire. We couldn’t extinguish the flames because there was no water and no electricity. When we called the fire department, they informed us that there was so much destruction in and around our city that they could not reach us, so it burned.

The women who were with us were terrified. There were dead bodies all around outside from Russian attacks. The situation was very difficult. This church had served the residents of our city, and many children came here to join Sunday school to study the Bible.