Ukraine faces controversial vote as Christians distribute Gospels
(Vatican Radio) Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov has warned two regions
in eastern Ukraine that Sunday's referendums on declaring independence could lead
to their destruction. His comments came while Christians were distributing Bible books
to help ease tensions, following deadly clashes between pro-Russian separatists and
Ukrainian government forces.
Pro-Russian separatists said however they
will hold the Sunday ballots anyway, to seek approval for declaring sovereign people's
republics in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The referendums come
despite calls from even Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone voting in the
areas. He spoke amid deadly clashes between pro-Russian militants occupying government
buildings and Ukrainian security forces.
In the latest fighting, Ukraine’s
interior minister Arsen Avakov said some 20 insurgents, who he called “terrorists”,
and one policeman were killed in the eastern port of Mariupol.
He claimed the
killings happened as armed pro-Russian separatists tried to seize the local police
headquarters.
Video footage showed Ukrainian forces using heavy weaponry
as well as tanks and at least some unarmed people appeared to have been injured from
gun shot wounds.
Tensions are also rising in the strategic town of Slovyansk
where a local resident criticized Ukraine's government.
"All people of
our town want peace," a woman said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But we only
see the violence and aggressiveness from our authorities in Kyiv."
Amid
the turmoil, a Christian mission group said it would distribute hundreds of thousands
of 'Gospel of Luke' Bible books in the area to promote reconciliation amid fears of
a new world war.
Russian Ministries (RM) told Vatican Radio it already printed
200,000 copies of the Gospel of Luke in the Ukrainian language and would print another
200,000 copies in the Russian language "for use in Russian-speaking, eastern portions
of Ukraine."
"These special editions of the Gospel of Luke also contain prayers
for salvation, comfort for individuals and families, healing for the nation, and hope
for peace," added RM's President Sergey Rakhuba. "Some speculate [the tensions] could
spark World War III."
Distributing the Bibles isn't without risks, he cautioned.
"Recently
our 'School Without Walls' [project] students [and] graduates took copies of Scripture
to soldiers on the front lines of Ukraine, understanding that they could be the first
ones to face eternity," he added.
However, "We will continue to work with local
evangelical churches to distribute the Word of God as widely as possible." He said
Bibles are also being distributed among Russian troops stationed near Ukraine's borders.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin claimed this week he had begun withdrawing forces from the
area, but the NATO military alliance said as many as 40,000 Russian troops remain
near Ukraine.
The leaders of France and Germany called Saturday for a visible
withdrawal of those forces and threatened Russia with further sanctions if Ukraine's
presidential election on May 25 fails to go ahead.