"Russian Officers Are Sleeping in My Children’s Beds in Mariupol"

Hennadiy Mokhnenko is a Protestant pastor from  Mariupol, currently occupied by Russia. He leads a chaplain battalion and is a father to 41 children—three biological and  38 adopted. In 2015, Hollywood director Steve Hoover made  a film, Almost Holy, about Mokhnenko’s efforts to save  homeless children. In 2022, when Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine, he and his team managed to  rescue thousands of people. Here is his story, shared  exclusively for the newspaper:

My last church service in Mariupol  took place on February 20, 2022, just four days before the  genocide in my city. It was an unusual service. I read the  parable of the Good Samaritan, who bandaged a stranger’s  wounds, and then handed the floor over to a tactical medic  for several hours, teaching people how to stop bleeding. By February 24, my city would be littered with corpses. Over  100,000 civilians have died in Mariupol, a city turned into a  graveyard by the Russians. This is a confrontation with  absolute evil, where human life has no value. 

We left everything behind in Mariupol, escaping with only our  souls. I received intelligence that I had 40 minutes to  evacuate the orphanages. I grabbed the Bible, the children, and we raced against Russian tanks. Friends in intelligence  called, "Pastor, faster, faster." 

Now, my greatest nightmare is dreaming that I didn’t make it,  seeing bombs falling on the children. 

After bringing the children and women to western part of  Ukraine, I realized I had to return to Mariupol. Older children,  friends, and parishioners remained there. I tried to break  back into the city with other chaplains, almost certain I was  heading toward my death. But, miraculously, in a single day,  God saved our lives three times. 

Yet I couldn’t re-enter the blocked city. Meanwhile, one of my  older adopted sons, Artem, took charge of a bomb shelter  under our church. Eventually, he decided to lead an  evacuation from the city. We met at the “zero line,” unable to  believe he had managed to break out with a convoy. Many  trying to leave Mariupol were killed. The next morning, he  said, “Dad, I’ll take more out. Give me a chance.” He and my  friends risked their lives to rescue 8,000 people from  Mariupol. The UN and the Red Cross evacuated zero  people, but a former homeless kid did something incredible. The Russians killed my adopted daughter, Victoria, in  Mariupol. She had been part of our family since she was ten,  and her life ended at 28. They shot her with a tank. In the  21st century, Russian tanks are leveling a city and tearing  my daughter’s body to pieces. Humanity must unite against  evil once again. After World War II, we said, "Never again,"  but here it is, happening again.

They destroyed 80% of Mariupol. Human remains lay  scattered around my church. Russian officers are sleeping in my children’s beds. My youngest son, now in the U.S.,  sobbed over the phone, saying, “I have nothing left—no toys,  no childhood photos.” 

They burned my church and turned it into an office building.  The orphanage was converted into a command center. Eleven of my older children, including my daughter, are now  fighting at the front. Six of my sons have been injured. Last  month, I thought I’d lost one of them for good, mourning him  in my mind. When they told me he’d died, I fell to the floor,  howling. But, thank God, 40 minutes later, I got a call saying,  “He’s alive! Just the fog of war.” 

As for me, I’ve been working as a chaplain on the frontlines  for 11 years. Every day, we load our vehicles with humanitarian supplies and set out to support our soldiers. It’s  also crucial for us as religious leaders to boost the morale of  our fighters. 

Ukraine is a country of complete religious freedom. We  collaborate with all churches, and I count Orthodox metropolitans and Catholic leaders among my good friends.  In 2023, I had a personal audience with Pope Francis, and  he recently sent me a personal letter saying he’s praying for  my children. 

As for the Russian Orthodox Church, it’s led by a former  KGB operative—a criminal in a robe and a man without  morality. During Hitler’s era, there was Reich Bishop Müller,  who endorsed Nazi ideology. Today, the Moscow  Patriarchate and Kirill Gundyaev represent a Reich Kremlin  Episcopate, supporting Putin’s satanic system. They are  accomplices in crimes against humanity.

The world thinks Putin will stop if he takes a piece of  Ukraine. But if the global community doesn’t teach dictators a lesson now, what happened in Mariupol will  happen to others. God forbid you witness your city being turned into a graveyard. 

All of civilization must unite against Putin’s aggression and  drive the Russians out of Ukraine. This is a matter of justice. In the 21st century, we must not allow anyone to destroy  cities and then talk about new borders. If someone enters  your home, kills your children, and then offers to  “peacefully” coexist in neighboring rooms of your own  house, never agree. It’s madness. Such a principle will  destroy the international community. Those responsible must  not just be removed but imprisoned. Russians must answer  for their crimes against humanity.