Summary of 2022. The bush that didn't burn up

10 min readDec 28, 2022

Hello, community. My name is Victor. I work as a software developer on an American enterprise project, and for ten months now, I have been serving part-time as a volunteer and a chaplain in Kyiv and Ukraine's hotspots.

Everything I write below is my perspective, and I don't claim to be 100% right. This will be my last article this year—a summary.

In these 300 days of full-scale war, I've been to almost every oblast center except Chernivtsi, Kropyvnytskyi, and Sumy.

When this article is published, I will probably be in Bakhmut and Soledar. Maybe not; who knows? That's a war for you- today you are alive, and tomorrow you're no more, like hundreds of thousands of our heroes who lay their lives in a century of struggle against russians.

In the end, I will provide a report of the work we've done in 2022, which is only possible with the support of the IT community.

Let's start with the very beginning.

"There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. The bush was engulfed in flames but didn't burn up."‭‭ Exodus‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭

Only a believer can be a chaplain for those who don't know. Most chaplains in Ukraine are Christians but can also be Muslims, Jews, etc. I am a church minister, so chaplaincy is the logical continuation of serving my country for me.

Awarding a medal from the Ukrainian Government

We had spent around three weeks preparing for the full-scale invasion. I had planned where my family would live in Poland, how I would get them out of Kyiv, and what I would do afterward. We had converted every hryvnia we had into dollars. (Further, the inflation will grow drastically)

I had told no one of my preparations because many people thought there would be no war, and it was all just tension escalation. One person from Odessa had said that if russians took Odessa, the flag would change, and that's it. Some had told me that Kharkiv had nothing to fear. How wrong they all were.

For those who don't know my story, I volunteered in Occupied Luhansk in 2014. After evacuating 32 people, I was captured. I have an article about that on Medium. I was tortured and humiliated almost every day. But I only let up once, when after being tortured, I was sentenced to execution by shooting. I can state this right away: it's immeasurably better to live without light, water, and heat but free, than to exist under occupation.

I slept through the beginning of the invasion and heard no explosions. I woke up to go to work with around 10 missed calls from friends on my phone. There were already cellular connection issues, so I couldn't call any of them back. After reading the news, we packed our things and drove to Lviv. I returned to Kyiv on February 27th with 10 000 hryvnias (~$370) and $200 in my pocket, knowing for sure that I would be rescuing people.

Which is precisely what I ended up doing. I became a military chaplain, or in other words, a pastor at war. In March, I evacuated and helped evacuate over 200 citizens of Ukraine and foreigners.

I remember March 13th, when the occupiers shelled us with mortars near a ruined bridge close to Irpin'.

*This photo was taken from the Internet, but I saw this with my own eyes.*

For about 10 minutes, I, two soldiers, and a dog waited out this shelling from a small, 50-centimeter-deep pit. Then I saw civilians trying to sneak away from the fridge and, under fire, evacuated them by bus to a safe place.

*Picture of the people evacuated during the shelling*

For the entirety of March, I lived in hell. Without good food, working from 7 AM to 9 PM, 14 hours a day. That had sabotaged my health. Thank God it's back to normal now.

In April, I returned to my primary work as a programmer and started helping the military part-time with my money, money from funds, and organizing fundraising campaigns in Telegram and on DOU.

I want to note that when you're in uniform, whether in the armed forces, as a military defense soldier, or as a chaplain, it's much easier to get through war than when you're a civilian.

I had no problems with fuel in May or June and never had to stand in line at a gas station or enter Kyiv. There are separate lines for military and territorial defense on many gas stations and a separate lane on the road to Kyiv.

Chaplain and Volunteer Trips

I started going to cities near the frontline and the frontline in the summer. The first city I went to was Mykolaiv.

I remember it was a sweltering day. I was driving to the boys' positions from the 206th battalion and stopped at an apartment downtown Mykolaiv for the night. When the air alarm siren rang, dogs started running around and whining, seeking shelter and huddling up to me. I've never seen anything like that in Kyiv. That night, Mykolaiv was shelled with Uragans. I couldn't rest. I couldn't take a shower either, because the water in the tap came from the river and was brown.

The next place I visited was the outskirts of Horlivka, where I met the boys from the 30th Brigade. Great warriors with many years of experience who know their trade well. The next time I'd see them would be by Bakhmut.

In July, I accidentally came across a video on the Instagram of my former co-worker, Roman, aka Break. He has videos with over a million views, so many of you know him. I offered him to help deliver things to the positions of a military unit, the name of which I will not disclose. Afterward, we partnered to supply his squad and started working with its commander. We've collected and usefully spent 800 000 hryvnias (~$21600) for these boys and girls.

*The purchased pickup truck during the transition to the regiment*

Chasiv Yar and Slovyansk

In August, we went to Slovyansk and Chasiv Yar. At that time, those cities were near the frontline, and Izium, Svyatohirs'k, and Lyman were still occupied. My friends delivered the necessary equipment for medics in a field hospital there.

On that day, my friend, a scout, hit an anti-tank landmine 60 kilometers away from us. His entire unit died. He alone miraculously survived. More details in this article

Next came Bakhmut

Nothing I've seen or heard since February 2022 can be compared with what's currently happening in Bakhmut and Soledar. It's so hot there that stray animals no longer fear explosions, and neither do children. Civilians in some places use rainwater for drinking and cooking. Upon arriving there, you first want to melt into the ground from fear, but then you get used to it somehow. In the East, there are enough of those waiting for the russians to come and Ukrainian patriots. But neither wants to leave or at least get their children out.

Acknowledgments

From the beginning, I received support from my friends’ fund, the East European Reformation. Thanks to them, we had the opportunity to evacuate people and aid the military. They also provided my wife with housing and employment in Poland while my family lived there. If you're reading this, Yaroslav, Martin, and Nataliya, you should know that I will never forget it.

Vova Rozhkov has proven- and continues to prove- himself a reliable friend and supporter in these hard times.

Vitaliy Ratushnyi became a loyal friend, always ready to come to my aid.

My company’s management left my position vacant and didn’t fire me in March when I couldn’t work. Thank you, Alex; you are a person worthy of all praise!

Tymophiy Balashov and Max Maliuta support my ministry every month, both psychologically and financially.

Thank you to Vlad Shelashskyi for the GoFundMe and translation of my articles into English. You’ve been supporting me since the first day of the invasion.

Thank you to Yuri Popko for providing his armor vest and support.

Thank you to the community of DOU. You donated more than a million hryvnias (~$27000) to our common cause.

Thank you to DOU’s editors, who always meet me halfway and momentarily respond to all questions. You are unbelievable!

Thank you to dozens of people who support my ministry as a chaplain without asking for anything in return.

Report

Today I want to provide you with a report of all the received and provided aid. Looking back, I realize that I could never have imagined that all of this would be possible.

In 300 days of the full-scale invasion, we provided:

1000 tourniquets;
500 bandages;
100 sets of thermal clothing;
200 pairs of gloves;
77 tactical first-aid kits;
Nine field furnaces for AFU (“Syla Zmin”)
1000 liters of fuel;
Ford Transit and VW Transporter T5 for evacuation and chaplain ministry (East European Reformation); I saw their T2 in a very bad state and just gave them the key to the Ford;
Ten armor vests.

All of this was given to various units. There were also many smaller things and expenses that I can’t remember.

830 000 hryvnias (~$22500) was spent on an anti-tank squad (includes a pickup truck, armory, thermal clothing, food, EcoFlow, and much more);
16 000 hryvnias (~$400) on repair parts for an armored vehicle in a territorial defense unit;
300 000 hryvnias (~$8100) as financial aid for Vadym Heyko to evacuate people from Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Severodonetsk (includes money that was collected to purchase a bus for him);
Seven crates of medicine
138 000 hryvnias (~$3700) for the 30th Mechanized Brigade (Generator, EcoFlow, vehicle purchase);
53 000 hryvnias (~$1400) for the chaplains’ Dacia Sandero
100 000 hryvnias (~$2700) to aid AFU, territorial defense, and volunteers;
47 000 hryvnias (~$1300) to repair the chaplains’ car
12 000 hryvnias (~$300) for fuel for the chaplains
70 000 hryvnias (~$1900) for food, water, and pet food;
250 000 hryvnias (~$6800) for operational expenses for nine months, including fuel, vehicles repair (one of them was crashed), housing, food;
40 000 hryvnias (~$1100) for medicine and medical treatment;
12 000 (~$300) hryvnias to partially cover insurance on a car, back when I had the VW T Roc;
7 200 (~$200) hryvnias for walkie-talkies and camera batteries
30 000 (~$800) for clothing, boots, and uniform;
4 600 (~$125) for communication.

Conclusions

What awaits us next? If the russian leaders don’t die or aren’t replaced by those who can begin to negotiate, the war will go on for a long time. At least for half of 2023.

There will be fewer mass missile strikes because the occupiers’ resources are not unlimited. Our anti-aircraft defense will become more effective every month.

It’s possible that a new russian offense that Zaluzhnyi and Budanov talk about will begin. If that happens, the occupiers will suffer such high casualties that they won’t be able to recover for decades. It looks like that the next fast AFU advance will be in Zaporizhzhya and Dnipro’s Left bank.

If an offense from belarus begins, residents of Ukraine’s central regions will have the opportunity to evacuate through southern Ukraine to Romania, Slovakia, and Moldova. If they march to Kyiv, I won’t be evacuating people anymore and might join the AFU’s ranks instead.

The communication situation will only worsen, so I recommend the unprotected layers of the population leave Ukraine, at least until it gets warmer.

russia is economically regressing more than ten years back. But we are also regressing, so the current quality of life will only worsen as inflation eats up our incomes.

How do I see our global future? We will be strong, similar to Israel, whose enemies are on all sides surround. I predict a breakthrough in all areas. Agriculture, science, production. Those who manufacture weapons or work in areas connected to defense will make a ton of money.

We will be accepted into the European Union and will have a visa-free policy with most countries, including the USA. But for that to happen, we need the new generation to replace the soviet mentality of the past that still exists on every level of our country. If the empire of evil won’t break up into smaller countries, there will be more wars of conquest. Fortunately, they will all be pointless because they will continue stepping on the same rakes, while we will be fighting them creatively and fiercely because we’re fighting for our future and the future of the generations that come next.

When my son hears the word “Pion”, he thinks of the tank, not the flower. There is no escaping that now. The brand of war will be upon our children for the rest of their lives.

At the beginning of the invasion, I promised myself I would be like the bush that burned and wouldn’t burn up, giving light and warmth to other people. That’s how it’s now, and I hope it will remain so. I am not letting up, and I know that we will have our victory. Goodness and light will have their victory.

Thank you for being with me through these months of hardship. Subscribe to my Telegram channel if you haven’t done so yet.

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