April 30, 2022

Praise Reports

  • Success – Russian plane was shot down over Mala Tokmachka in Zaporozhia region yesterday. Ukrainian forces said they had recaptured a “strategically important” village of Ruska Lozova, near Kharkiv, and evacuated hundreds of civilians.
  • Russia – Military – Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in northeast Ukraine, a British military update said on Saturday. “Shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its combat mass, despite localized improvements,” the military tweeted.
  • Truth Revealed #1 – Evacuations – Russian troops attacked 2 evacuation 2 buses in Popasna, no connection with drivers
  • Truth Revealed #2 – Bucha – Another mass grave has been discovered and in this one it is saying that the people were killed with their hands tied and blindfolded.
  • Truth Revealed #3 – Russia – In Voronezh, they opened a case of “giving false information” about the Russian army against a deputy, Nina Belyaeva, from the Communist Party, who condemned the war in Ukraine at a meeting of the district council on March 22nd, saying “There was a question: what, are the people who are fighting, they are non-Christians? In response to this question, I said that killing other people on the territory of another state, who have nothing (to do) in order to defend their own country, has nothing to do with Christian doctrine. I believe that a Christian cannot act like this.”
  • Truth Revealed #4 – UN – In response to the missile strikes by Russia on Kyiv Thursday while Antonio Gutierrez the general secretary of the UN was present, President Zelensky said, “Unfortunately, such a deliberate and brutal humiliation of the United Nations by Russia was left without a powerful response.” Thus highlighting what he has already said, that the UN is a fundamentally powerless organization, hoping to stimulate it to action in the way he has successfully done with Germany and France.
  • Truth Revealed #5 – Russian forces have stolen “several hundred thousand tonnes” of grain in the areas of Ukraine they occupy, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister said on Saturday. Speaking to Ukrainian national TV, Taras Vysotskiy expressed concern that most of what he said was 1.5 million tonnes of grain stored in occupied territory could also be stolen by Russian forces.
  • Truth Revealed #6 – if the Russian president orders the use of NSNW (non-strategic nuclear weapons), a large number of people must be involved in executing the order. This is not only the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff, but also the Chief of the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the commander and officers of a specific storage base, along with the commander and officers of a specific repair base, who will have to deliver the NSNW unit to the carrier and bring this unit to combat readiness. In parallel, the commander of the type of troops that will have to use it (Air Force, Navy, etc.) and the commander of the military district from where the NSNW will be launched will be involved. And finally, the commander and officers of a specific unit, which must, in the end, fulfill the order.And at each stage of this chain, there is a possibility of failure, refusal of specific officers to carry out orders, and even covert sabotage. Meanwhile, the distrust of the Russian political leadership in its military, as evidenced by the comical distance between the president, the defense minister and the chief of the General Staff during meetings, serves as an additional deterrent to the use of NSNW.
  • Truth Revealed #7 – Russian Economy – Russia made what appeared to be a late u-turn to avoid a default on Friday, as it made a number of already-overdue international debt payments in dollars despite previously vowing they would only be paid in rubles. Whether the money would make it to the United States and other Western countries that sanctioned Russia was still not clear, but it represented another major twist in the game of financial chicken that has developed about a possible default. Russia’s finance ministry said it had managed to pay $564.8 million on a 2022 Eurobond and $84.4 million on a 2042 bond in dollars – the currency specified on the bonds. The ministry said it had channeled the required funds to the London branch of Citibank, one of the so-called paying agents of the bonds whose job is to disburse them to the investors that originally lent the money to Moscow.
  • Truth Revealed #8 – Ghost of Kiev – The identity of the Ukrainian fighter pilot known as the “Ghost of Kyiv” has been revealed. While there was speculation that the pilot was made up by the Ukrainian government to bolster morale after Russian forces began invading, officials maintained he was real. The Times of London identified him as 29-year-old Major Stepan Tarabalka and said he shot down over 40 Russian aircraft during the first month of the invasion. Tarabalka died in March during an air battle in which he faced off against an “overwhelming” number of Russian fighter jets.
  • Poland – Arms – Poland is the first to supply actual tanks, giving Ukraine Soviet T-72 tanks along with self-propelled howitzers, and Grad rocket launchers

Pray Points – Latest

  • Mariupol – An evacuation with some partnership with the UN & Red Cross was attempted but fundamentally blocked by Russia as they continue to attempt to bomb Azovstal and the people there out of existence.
  • Russia – Military – shelling of Kharkiv and then in a clustered in eastern Donbas and in a line from Velyka Novosilka to the Zaporophzhia Reservoir a distance of over 100 miles with a clear sign that they are focusing their attempts on not losing the northern front in Kharkiv & Izyum in the south at Kherson (pausing the attack on Kryvyi Rih, but attempting to gain ground in eastern Donbas, while preparing for a major offensive possibly tomorrow on the Zaporozhia front.
  • Russian Military – time is running out and so their attacks and tactics will become increasingly desparate as these are the true last roll of the die. Because they have till May 9th to deliver Putin his victory but even sooner is May 4th the financial default and true victory would give them means to negotiate.
  • 6 Russian Key Objectives to Pray Against
    1. Kharkiv – Destroy, Encircle, Capture
    2. Izyum – push south to encircle Donbas
    3. Slavyonsk and Kramatorsk – in the east to complete a smaller encirclement of the cities
    4. Mariupol – completely destroy all opposition and export the populations
    5. Zaporozhye – Russian troops are building up forces and building logistics a massive concerted attack
    6. Kherson – Russia is facing sabotage from the people but is still attempting to push north toward Kryvyi Rih and west toward Mykolaiv, then to Odessa and to Transnistria and eventually to Moldova.
  • Izyum/Kherson/Zaporozhye – there is much evidence that Russia is desperately attempting to catch and conscript any and all able men in the occupied regions and force them to fight for them.
  • Ukrainian Artillery – all of the defensive positions are using Soviet Era 152mm ammunition and NATO has been scrambling to provide Ukraine with all that it needs but they are running out. As the US is finally willing to send artillery (theirs is 155mm) it will still be months until it can reach the front lines and be used effectively.
  • Deportations – Russia has deported over 500,000 people from Ukraine to Russia. 134,000 of those from Mariupol alone.
  • Mercenaries – Continue to pray for all mercenaries to be neutralized in any way!
  • Logistics – Russia logistical challenges are still problematic even though the supply lines to the Donbas are shorter, and much will depend on the condition of the roads and railways.
  • Refugees – now 5.2 million have fled Ukraine. Pray for their safety, provision and care.
  • West – pray that the pressure would continue to mount on western leaders to ban oil and gas imports and to continue to increase meaningful heavy arms donations.
  • Russia – pray that the emotional need to make a huge statement and reaction to the sinking of Moskva will lead to Russia moving prematurely and without adequate preparation and coordination and thereby dooming their own assault. Or to make a move that so steels international resolve that it makes supporting Russia impossible even for China and India.
  • Belarus – Secretary of security council of Belarus warns of provocations from Ukraine to get Belarus involved in the war
  • Russian People – pray they understand the Truth and reject the lies they’ve been told and rise up
  • US – pray that Lend/Lease gets fast-tracked and raise on the House floor and approved today
  • China – has doubled down and the Russian propaganda and refused to admit the atrocities were committed by Russia or any other point

Pray Points – Continued

  • Ukraine – Almost two-thirds of Ukrainian children have fled their homes, the UN says. About 4.8 million out of 7.5 million children had to leave their homes, said Manuel Fontaine from UNICEF. He confirmed the deaths of 142 children, but added that the number is “almost certainly higher”
  • Economy – Ukraine economy to contract 45.1% this year, Russia 11.2%: World Bank
  • Rage – Pray against rage as videos have come to the four about Ukrainian soldiers summarily executing Russian soldiers. Although they can obviously feel incredibly justified, this is destructive to them and provides ammunition to Russia their attempt to create an alternative narrative in Ukraine.
  • Russian Military – Russia is sending an 8-mi long convoy of 100s of vehicles, including armored vehicles and artillery southbound through the Ukrainian town of Velykyi Burluk. The convoy is moving about 60 mi east of Ukraine’s 2nd-largest city of Kharkiv, as Russian focuses on Donbas. Russian Ministry of Defense claims destruction S-300 SAM at Chuhuiv airbase and Starobohdanovka in Mykolaiv region. Also claimed destruction of National Guard base in Zvonetske of Dnipropetrovsk region
  • TRUTH – pray that an ever-increasing steady stream of the atrocities committed by the Russians will be revealed and documented to maintain the ever-increasing pressure on political leaders and parties to act with speed, vigor and determination.
  • Russian Lies – pray that all their various alternative narratives would be revealed as rags and shadows for all to see.
  • Evacuation & Panic – Ukraine has urged civilians to leave the east of the country “while the opportunity still exists” before a massive Russian military assault that it expects in the coming days. The governors of the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions were calling on people to move immediately to safer areas. “It has to be done now, because later people will be under fire and face the threat of death. There is nothing they will be able to do about it.
  • May 9 – Reports are that Putin needs the invasion successful in time for the Victory Day parades, thereby threatening great attacks over the coming month. Putin would want to have an “announceable success” by then, which could create “some tension” with Russian commanders as exhausted forces were likely to be thrown into battle fairly soon in an attempt to gain ground in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv. This also is at the end of the 30-day default negotiation period (ending on May 5) meaning incredible pressure is on Russia to achieve victory by then.
  • Europe/US – pray they will block all gas imports and provide truly meaningful military support.
  • Oil – Pray that Europe would have the political will to do a complete embargo of Russian fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal, etc.)
  • Occupied – Many villages completely cut off from all supplies and food and water!
  • Global Food – there could be a global food crisis as Ukrainian farmers are being forced to limit what they plant due to the war. And also due to the fact that the main ways that they have a reaching global markets through the Black Sea is now blocked by Russia. Russia and Ukraine together produce 25% of all green in the world!
  • Refugees – According to Polish border guards, more than 2.4 million people have fled Ukraine to Poland . However, supplies have dropped off and now the whole regions are struggling.
  • For the Weak – Russia has flown more than 300 air sorties over Ukraine in the past 24 hours: senior U.S. defense official
  • Russian Elites – to turn on one another and on Putin
  • Russian Military – continuing to press in the north, but the real danger is that Russia seems to preparing for an all-out push in Donbas to encircle the Ukrainian army and to take the entire region and to create a united front against Ukraine.
  • Russian Soldiers – pray for their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being and for them to have the courage to face the Truth and the opportunity to receive the Gospel which is the ONLY answer to the atrocities they’ve already committed.
  • Russian Opposition – that those in the inner circle will see a way out and that Russian Opposition would be able to gather together in a meaningful way
  • The Truth – In all things that the Truth would be painfully evident and unavoidable in all public discussion
  • Ukrainian Army – Russia is attempting to encircle the Ukrainian Army in Donbas
  • Russia – for the people to wake up to the Truth and rise up
  • Putin’s Inner Circle – to fragment and turn on one another
  • Protection of the Weak
  • The West – to not grow numb to atrocities, but be compelled to action
    1. Sanctions – Loopholes would be closed and sanctions rendered effective
    2. Oil Embargo – That Europe would make the choice to stop immediately at the very least paying for gas & oil
    3. Heavy Weapons – provide planes, tanks, heavy artillery and high-altitude weapons

Prayer Strategies

  • Corruption & Domination Falls
    • Russia, Belarus & Ukraine
    • The Former Soviet Union
    • China, India, UAE & Saudi Arabia
  • Truth & Freedom prevail
  • The Gospel is spreads like wildfire
    • From Ukraine
    • To Russia
    • To the whole world

Prayer Encouragement

“Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!”  — Andrew Murray