Shell Shocked in Ukraine
How One Family Escaped the War
Ilona and her family lived in Bucha and Irpin, two small suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine, which were the scenes of intense battles and much destruction and which eventually fell to the Russian army. Thankfully the whole family was able to evacuate to Switzerland, but not without danger. Ilona and her son Thomas, who came through Budapest, evacuated within the first couple of days of the war to the sound of bombs and gunfire, but her parents stayed longer.
When the Russian army began a serious assault on the city, her mom escaped, but her dad stayed—even though there was constant warfare and bombing and limited or no services like electricity or water. He finally got out when much of the city was destroyed, but was left shell-shocked and nearly destitute. Thankfully, by God’s grace and the prayers of many, friends in Kyiv found him and were able to send him to a safer place in Ukraine to meet his wife and to eventually move on to Switzerland to join Ilona.
By Randy Marshall, OMS Ukraine Missionary