Jovial, gravel-voiced pastor Eduard Fedirko once founded and led a large Baptist church in the Donetsk province, Ukraine. The first time I met him, he talked enthusiastically and at length about this start-up ministry; it was clear he’d given deeply of himself to this work. But when we met again this June, this was all in the past. Fedirko had not set foot in Donetsk in three years because his former church is behind the front lines in Russian-occupied territory.
“It must be hard for your parishioners to live under military occupation,” I said at one point.
For just a moment, I saw Fedirko’s smile fade. “I stay in touch with the current minister and a few leaders,” he replied, “but no one else, because many church members have become KGB agents.”
