‘There is no safe city:’ Pastor sees escalation of war in second trip to Ukraine

By Anjali Patel

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — An Asheville pastor has just returned home to the mountains after his second wartime trip to Ukraine with family and friends from his church.

Sergio Fesiuk, the lead pastor at AVL City Church, said the group was in Ukraine for about 12 days for this latest trip, staying for a longer time and taking more people.

Fesiuk said they took lots of medication and protective equipment on the trip to distribute there.

“We took over 2,000 pounds on the plane with us. That’s 27 oversized luggage with eight people,” he said. “Being able to take it with us and get it to the frontlines as quick as possible, that was kind of our goal.”

The group helped deliver supplies, transport evacuees and even just handed money out to residents.

“We reconnected with some of the organizations that are on the ground, that are doing work, that are saving lives, that are evacuating people,” Fesiuk said.

Additionally, they took lots of supplies for orphanages, from necessities to art supplies — helping kids be kids.

“One of the things that our hearts went out to is the kids. A lot of the times, the kids get left behind and people don’t pay attention to them,” Fesiuk said. “We were able to visit some of these orphanages and just bring smiles to the kids’ faces and to the teachers and adults, as well.”

Fesiuk said he noticed how things had escalated on his latest voyage to his home country. Russia’s assault on Ukraine has now gone on for more than 70 days.

“When you realize that a missile has hit about an hour away from where you are, you realize that no place in Ukraine is currently safe. You know where the armies are and the footsoldiers are, but the missiles, they just come out of nowhere,” he said. “You’re realizing there is no safe city.”

Fesiuk said they visited huge cities that were once bustling, like Dnipro, but are now pitch dark.

“We drove into a city that’s over a million population and it’s pitch black, like you’re in downtown and you can see the stars,” he said.

Fesiuk said they’d crossed a bridge to get in and out of a city, and days later it was destroyed by a missile.

Fesiuk said he and his group were acutely aware of the dangers as they traveled the country, delivering aid, transporting people, praying and distributing supplies.

He said many of the locals, though, were almost numb to what was going on, now having lived through it for months.

“They are not swayed by all the sirens anymore as they were when it first started,” Fesiuk said.

He said it’s heartbreaking that this is a reality they have no choice but to accept.

“It’s always sad when you have to accept something that you did not choose,” Fesiuk said.

He said fatigue is inevitable, especially for those with boots on the ground, fighting and delivering aid.

“At first, you have all this energy to fight, to evacuate, to do things and go on very little sleep, but, after a while, you’re doing the same thing every day and one week turns into three weeks, three weeks turns into a month and a half and it’s not getting better, it’s actually getting worse,” Fesiuk said.

He believes the motivation to maintain Ukrainian autonomy is pushing their brave soldiers through.

“The arrogance and pridefulness of a bully country like Russia fuels their energy and passion to see this thing through,” Fesiuk said.

He said it’s only natural, though, for Ukrainians to get tired and even discouraged.

“They’re facing exhaustion, they’re facing anxiety and depression and trying to find truth within propaganda news,” Fesiuk said.

He said that’s why it’s important to have fresh people on the ground there, delivering aid and optimism, spreading the word that the world is behind Ukraine and its fight for freedom.

Fesiuk wonders, though, why allies haven’t done more to stop the atrocities there.

“How do you allow a country to plow through civilians without doing more than sending more military supplies?” he asked.

Fesiuk said massive graves are being found there and people lack the basic resources to survive.

“People don’t have water in these cities. It’s a crisis,” Fesiuk said.

He said it’s even more heartbreaking, because it’s a war and a humanitarian crisis happening simultaneously.

“Every day it’s not stopped is another day that children and women and grandparents are dying and cities are being destroyed,” Fesiuk said.

For information on how to donate to Ukrainians through the efforts of AVL City Church and its partners continuously on the ground in Ukraine, visit: avlcitycenter.com/crisis.

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