Baptist churches in war-torn Mariupol fuller than ever

He hopes to celebrate his 92nd birthday in Zjitomir, Ukraine. He was not planning to flee but did it anyways, immediately after the Russian invasion. That is why pastor Daniil Michalovitz Vinogradsky has been in the Netherlands since early March. Unexpected turns or seeming contradictions in life do not surprise him anymore. His life has been full of them.

Two-thirds of Ukrainians call themselves believers. In the past 20 years, religiosity has grown by just under 10 per cent. The country experienced a 'religious peak' in 2014.

Rev. Ivan Bespalov, minister of the Evangelical-Presbyterian congregation in Kyiv, decided not to leave the capital. “I feel that my people need me here.”