1.8 Million Dead: European Christians Issue Urgent Prayer Call as Ukraine War Enters Fifth Year

European Christians Urged to Keep Praying for Ukraine as War Enters Fifth Year

The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has issued a powerful call to Christians across Europe, urging them to renew their commitment to prayer for Ukraine as the devastating war enters its fifth year.

Published on February 24, 2026, exactly four years after Russia launched its full scale invasion, the appeal titled "A Call to Persevere in Prayer for Ukraine" highlights the staggering human toll of the conflict. At least 1.8 million people have been killed on both sides since the war began.

After four years of conflict, the human toll remains immense. Thousands have been killed or injured.

The European Evangelical Alliance stated in its appeal published on the fourth anniversary of the invasion.

The alliance outlined specific areas for intercession, including prayer for families grieving the death, injury, or separation of loved ones. The EEA also called for prayer for the safe return of prisoners of war and children who have been taken to Russia, as well as for civilians living under daily threat of bombardment.

Particular attention was given to persecuted religious minorities in occupied territories and military chaplains serving under extreme conditions on the front lines and in hospitals. The EEA also urged prayer for the strengthening of local churches and for Ukraine's capacity to defend its people.

Nearly 700 churches of all denominations have been damaged or completely destroyed across Ukraine since the invasion began in February 2022. Despite this destruction, the EEA noted that churches continue serving their communities courageously, with testimonies of spiritual awakening emerging amid the crisis.

The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations also held a National Day of Prayer on the anniversary, with religious leaders across denominations uniting in intercession.

Ukrainians pray for peace, again and again, peace.

A Ukrainian bishop said on the anniversary.

The EEA affirmed its continued solidarity with the churches and people of Ukraine and invited believers throughout Europe to remain faithful in prayer until peace, justice, and restoration are fully realized.

Why Every Christian Must Stand With Ukraine in Prayer Four Years Into Russia's War

Ukrainian evangelical leaders have described the ongoing war as a fight for faith, freedom, and gospel witness. Baptist churches across Ukraine gathered for special services of remembrance, lament, thanksgiving, and fervent intercession on the anniversary.

We see collective prayer as a powerful act of faith, dependence on God, and spiritual resistance.

Ukrainian Baptist leaders stated.

The war has fundamentally reshaped the mission of churches across Ukraine, turning parishes into shelters, pastors into chaplains, and charity into daily survival.

The Crusader's Opinion

Four years. Nearly two million dead. And the world has moved on to the next headline. But we must not. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Ukrainian believers are standing on the front lines of a spiritual and physical war that threatens all of Christendom. Their churches have been bombed, their children kidnapped, their faith tested in ways most Western Christians cannot fathom. And yet they pray. Not for vengeance, not for conquest, but for peace. If that is not the living Gospel, I do not know what is. The least we can do is get on our knees beside them. Every single Christian in Europe and America who stays silent while believers are slaughtered and churches are leveled will answer for that silence. Stand up. Pray. Act. This is not someone else's war. This is our war.

Take Action

• Pray specifically using the EEA's prayer points: for grieving families, prisoners of war, kidnapped children, and persecuted believers in occupied territories.
• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted Christians on the ground in conflict zones.
• Support Open Doors in their work providing emergency relief, trauma care, and spiritual support to Ukrainian Christians.
• Give to Mission Eurasia which is actively feeding displaced Ukrainians and supporting local church ministries throughout the war zone.
• Contact your elected representatives and urge them to maintain support for Ukraine and to advocate for the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children from Russia.
• Share this story with your church community and organize a dedicated prayer vigil for Ukraine this week.