Ukraine Aid: 'We Had to Risk Our Lives to Save Children'

EASTERN UKRAINE - The United States and the European Union are moving ahead with sanctions against Russia because of the crisis in Ukraine.

The sanctions could be rolled back if Moscow follows through on its promise to help end the conflict. Months of fighting have taken a heavy toll on parts of the country.

CBN's Orphan's Promise has been helping meet both the physical and spiritual needs of Ukrainians caught in the middle of the crisis.

Aid worker Galyna Kucher will be the first to admit she's in unfamiliar territory.

"In 23 years of working for CBN have you ever experienced anything like this?" CBN News asked her about the current conflict.

"No, I've dealt with social disasters all my career, but this is by far the biggest challenge I've ever had to face," she said.

Since the crisis in Crimea erupted and pro-Russian separatists invaded parts of eastern Ukraine, she and her team have worked around the clock distributing humanitarian aid.

"Today, people need food. Tomorrow they need medical assistance or you have to evacuate them from the war zone," Kucher continued.

"We weren't ready for this kind of disaster, but life has put us in such circumstances that we've had to risk our lives to save children, feed them, attend to their medical and psychological needs," she said.

Orphan's Promise has been running a hotline connecting a stream of refugees from the east and Crimea with families and churches willing to help.

"This war has shown the true face of the Protestant Church in Ukraine. They are united in helping," Kucher said. "The government couldn't handle the flow of refugees but thanks to the response from Christians, we were able to respond."

She's made several trips here to the war zone. Each time she struggles with the magnitude of suffering and heartbreak.

"In 23 years I've coordinated hundreds of humanitarian distributions, but I have never had to hand out bread to people," she said. "It's just insane that in Ukraine, the country that grows wheat and is the bread basket of Europe, people would be in need of bread."

This is a war happening on the doorsteps of Europe.

"Ukraine is a peaceful nation and since our independence has never fought anyone," Kucher said. "We gave away our nuclear weapons; we have no real army. I never thought our nation was at risk, especially from Russia."

About a thousand troops still reportedly operate in Ukraine, with an additional 20,000 on the Russian side of the border. Thousands of pro-Russian separatists firmly control large chunks of eastern Ukraine.

Kucher said the situation in the rebel-controlled areas is dangerous and dire.

"Some people we've evacuated from the war zone were in such shock they were close to a nervous breakdown," she said. "They were shaking non-stop and couldn't believe we got them out."

In between handing out bread and other critical relief supplies to hundreds of families, Kucher said her team is always ready to meet more than just physical needs.

"We have many opportunities to share the gospel with people, pray with them, and I've even noticed just how thirsty people are for the Word of God. They grab Bibles from our hands. People are open," she said.

Nearly a week after a tenuous ceasefire was signed, explosions rocked the conflict-ridden Donetsk region overnight. Kucher said it is just another sad reminder of the challenges facing her war-weary countrymen.