"Volunteer Service": How a Pastor from Donetsk Helps Civilians Who Remain in the Frontline Region

For nearly eight months of open conflict, Pastor Maksym Lazarev has been evacuating residents of frontline communities from under fire. And to those who did not decide to evacuate, he comes with humanitarian aid. During this time, he has managed to distribute more than 70 tons of food and medicines. He told our journalists about the people he helps and the mortal danger he has to face.

Pastor Lazarev has been living in Donetsk for four years. He moved here from Sumy. In the new place, he became a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

After the outbreak of open conflict, Pastor Lazarev had to postpone his main job to focus on helping civilians in the region. He calls it "volunteer service," and together with his wife and friends, he does it in Donbas and other regions of Ukraine.

"Our volunteer ministry started as a response to the identified needs. In early March, we decided to move our family from an apartment in Sloviansk to a house in Kramatorsk. Seeing many IDPs [internally displaced persons] from Volnovakha and Izyum here, we organized a temporary shelter for them in the house," Pastor Lazarev recalls.

Separately, Lazarev and his wife were engaged in the evacuation of civilians from Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk. They took people from dangerous regions to their shelter in Kramatorsk and then sent them to Dnipro and Lviv. According to Lazarev, during this time, they managed to take out more than 1,000 people from under the shelling by their own transport.

"Now we are engaged, not so much in evacuation as in humanitarian aid. And in most cases, it is in [the] Donetsk region. These are different cities, but more often Bakhmut, Kostiantynivka, Toretsk, Siversk, and Soledar," says the pastor.

In June, Pastor Lazarev and his family moved to Dnipro. Here, he says it is easier to find help, transport, and fuel. He and his wife took various things to dangerous regions: bread, water, hygiene products, food packages, clothes, medicines, etc. In total, during this time, they have already delivered more than 70 tons of necessities.

The help, Pastor Lazarev explains, was given to them by various charitable foundations and Protestant churches. Also, donations from the congregation were used to purchase humanitarian aid.

He admits it is scary to go to towns and villages on the front line. It is most acutely felt during explosions, on unfamiliar roads, and in difficult locations.

"Especially when we leave a calm place for a not so calm one, and common sense asks, ‘Where are you going?’ But it is enough to remember the people who are happy even with simple drinking water, and children who are happy to be able to eat—and sometimes some sweets—and you forget about fear and go to help people," says the pastor.

During this time, Lazarev says he had several situations when his life could have ended at any moment. For example, once, he was taking people out of Izium and came under fire. One of the fragments hit the gas tank, but he did not know about it and drove on. Only a miracle saved him from irreparable damage. He believes God saved him.

"There were many difficult situations. Especially when a person tries to take things that he or she did not collect, and thus delays the volunteers, which is why we did not have time to take others. Or when they asked us to take someone from their family, we spent a lot of time looking for a home, and then heard a refusal. At the same time, other people never waited for us," Pastor Lazarev recalls with regret.

He assures that whatever the views of the people he visits, the most important thing for him is to save them from hardship.

"When we look at our child, who often makes mistakes, we do not stop loving him. We do not say to him, ‘Be patient, this is the consequence of your actions.’ We try to help him," says the pastor in comparison.

Lazarev says serving people helps him feel warmth and joy. He believes everyone in their place can be a volunteer. It is enough to buy food, take in a needy person, or give money to other benefactors.

"When we put bread in the water (do good), it will definitely come back. As long as we can do it, especially in such a difficult time for Ukraine, it is worth doing it. And believe me, in the end, incredible results will be waiting for us all," Pastor Lazarev concludes.

We have told you about how Serhiy Hoshko, the head of the Soledar military administration, delivers humanitarian aid to the residents of Mayorsk. There is no water, electricity, gas, internet, or mobile communication in the village. All roads are broken by Russian missiles. There is also no possibility to get at least some medical care. However, despite all this, about 20 locals still stay there.

The original version of this story was posted on the Ukrainian Union Conference [Ukrainian]-language news site.