Hope Channel Ukraine continues operation despite challenges

Despite the challenges raised by the Russo-Ukrainian war, Hope Channel Ukraine continues to provide hope to families during challenging times.

Volodymyr Mykhed, a chaplain for Hope Channel Ukraine, described nights when team members and their families slept in apartment hallways or bomb shelters for safety.

“At 6 or 7 am after a night like that, the team gets up and heads to the studio to go live on air, bringing a message of hope and encouragement to those who are exhausted and losing heart,” Mykhed said.

During alerts, Kyiv’s metro operates only on underground sections, cutting service across the Dnipro River and complicating travel between the city's two sides. Getting to work can take more than an hour and a half, he noted.

Last winter, he recalled, some team members spent weeks in apartments at 10 to 12 degrees Celsius (50 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit), after attacks damaged heating infrastructure. The United Nations documented at least 74 strikes on combined heat and power plants and other heating infrastructure across Ukraine between December 2025 and May 2026. Mykhed also described experienced staff members relocating or leaving for the front.

“The hardest moments are the phone calls notifying us of the death of loved ones, friends, or colleagues,” he said.

Then another morning comes.

At six or seven, they get up and go to work for people like Viktoriia Markovska.

A mission to provide hope

While Markovska lived in Lebanon and underwent cancer treatment, she received Hope Channel Ukraine videos from an old acquaintance.

Markovska’s illness was discovered while visiting her mother in Lutsk, Ukraine. Her mother had beaten stage four cancer.

“A long road of struggle began. Endless consultations, difficult procedures, exhausting courses of chemotherapy, periods of hope and disappointment, waiting for results, and later a serious operation,” Markovska said while recalling her experience.

She had believed in God for years, but a sense of her own sinfulness made her afraid to come close to Him. Despite this fear, she knew God was the only one who could save her. Markovska prayed that the God who saved her mother would now save her.

A few days later, Markovska met an acquaintance she hadn’t seen in more than 15 years. He sent her several videos from Hope Channel Ukraine, and she watched them immediately.

“Without a doubt, it was God’s call,” she remembered.

When Markovska called the channel’s hotline, she was promised someone would begin studying the Bible with her. Later, while passing through Lutsk, Markovska found the contact information for Oleksandr Slobodskyi, a pastor in the city, and told him about the call she had made from Lebanon.

Slobodskyi confirmed the request for Bible studies had been made and began studying with her.

Bible studies connect Lebanon and Ukraine

For the next year, Markovska studied two Bible courses with Slobodskyi. The lessons continued through chemotherapy, including days when, by her account, she did not have enough strength to get out of bed.

Markovska recalled her doctors' surprise at how her body responded to treatment.

“Studying the Bible became a turning point in my life,” she explained. “It brought peace, hope, and a deep sense of God’s love.”

She asked to be added to the Lutsk congregation’s group chat and began supporting church projects from Lebanon. Markovska later used her vacation days to return to the city for baptism.

“I wanted to thank God for His care, His love, and the miracles of healing,” she said.

Eleven weeks before her baptism, the Russo-Ukrainian war began. Despite the challenges of war, Hope Channel Ukraine continued to carry out its ministry work, keeping Markovska and others hopeful.

The original article was published on the Ukrainian Union Conference Ukrainian news site.