Latest News & Information
31/10/2025 We have today received reports of a drone hitting the church building that we are supporting in Kherson. Mercifully no-one was inside. It is believed that the drone was targeting a church members car which, had it made impact, would have caused much more devastation. Kherson remains a dangerous and unpredictable region. Please join us in praying for an end to the drone attacks and the war as a whole.
26/10/2025 This Sunday saw a lovely all age worship service at United Reformed Church Petersfield with the focus on Transcarpathia - the region in western Ukraine where we started our connection over 20 years ago. It was a time of thanks for our ongoing connection with the villages along with reflection and prayer for their safety and a peaceful end to the war. Thank you to everyone who supported this lovely service.
29/09/2025 The UCP Trustees had one of its regular meeting to review activities and particluarly funding for various projects in Transcarpathia and also Kherson - for a more detailed upate on Kherson go to our "Supporting Kherson" page.
Funding was agreed to continue to regular support around 30 people who need ongoing life-giving medication but do not have the abitity to pay for it themselves.
We also celebrated the completion of some recent projects:
replacement of a Nursery room floor to make it usable again
repair of children's climing frame that was dangerous
replacement of a floor in one of the church prayer rooms
The Trustees continue to be incredibly grateful to the various groups and individuals that give so generously and also keep the villagers in their thoughts and prayers. Without your help we would not have the impact that we do.
01/09/2025 Summer Mission Update - Wendy - Trustee
At the beginning of August, a small group of us from Petersfield and Claygate, visited our beloved villages of Gulya, Akli, and Uj Akli in Transcarpathia.
This was my 12th visit to the villages, and as always, it was both humbling and a privilege to be part of this faithful community. Despite the ongoing war, fear, and family separations, the villagers remain warm, welcoming, and steadfast in prayer. Their acceptance that “this is God’s will” and their hope for peace are truly inspiring.
With the local minister, we visited homes alongside translators and church elders. Loneliness, isolation and loss were common themes, yet every home offered warmth and hospitality. The knitted teddies and prayer cards we brought were received with deep gratitude—thank you to everyone who helped make them.
It was also encouraging to see the tangible impact of your support: new youth facilities by the church, continued aid for the elderly, and the valuable work of our trustees with the local doctor.
Thank you all for your continued prayers, support, and generosity. Above all, let us keep praying for peace.
20/06/2025 Following a request from our contacts in Kherson - UCP has provided 25 drone detectors to local emergency service workers and volunteers working in and near Kherson in June - the detections occurring as a result of these units has saved several from injury or worse when drones targeted them and their colleagues.
We are now working to provide additional armoured vest protection to these units and have supplied 25 of these so far - are now working to increase the number of detectors and armoured vests to cover more volunteers.
To donate specifically to this initiative please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/drone-protection?utm_medium=CA&utm_source=CL
09/03/2025 With the current geopolitical events happening at the moment, the future of Ukraine is even more uncertain than before. We have been supporting the villages in Transcarpathia for over 20 years now, bringing them certainty that we are determined to be a constant friend and partner to them. We have always strived to build a sustainable link with the villages and we will do all we can to keep this going, now including the Kherson region.
As part of our ongoing work to help the villages in Transcarpathia we are about to fund a seed project again, something we have done for the last 2 years just ahead of the planting season. This will help the villages to grow produce that they would not otherwise be able to grow providing food for themselves and to take to market where possible.
Funds will allow us to support the request from the pastor, who helps with the administration. Each family will get one pack of seeds for each vegetable, resulting in each family getting about 20 packs of seeds.
Please pray for good weather so these seeds can grow well and also for funding for us to be able to continue with this and similar projects.
15/02/2025 As we approach the 3rd year anniversary of the latest Russian invasion we continue to support our brothers, sisters and other friends in both the Transcarpathia Region in the west and the Kherson Region in the south east. For more specific information about our work in Kherson go to the "Supporting Kherson" page to see some news there.
The 3 villages in Transcarpathia are facing another harsh Ukrainian winter, made a little easier with additional supplies of wood that is being distributed to those who need it - this is from the stock pile that we purchased 2 summers ago when the price was low. We will continue to make best use of the money that you so generously donate.
We continue to support a small number of villagers who cannot aford to buy the medicines prescribed by the new, local doctor. We have decided to do this for 6 months and then the Trustees will review our funds and see if we can extend. Please give as generously as you can for this and other initiatives we are trying to support.
Please keep everyone in your prayers as they face another winter under the ravages of war and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
05/01/2025 As the new year is upon us the Trustees and everyone at UCP want to thank you for all you support during the last year, and many years before.
We remain committed to continue our support to the villages as they endure the war and try to live as normal life as possible, especially for the children and the elderly.
Your prayers, practical help and financial giving allows us to plan for more support during 2025. We are truely grateful to you all and thank our Lord for this ongoing provision.
May you all continue to feel encouraged by the work we do and feel moved to support us as we plan for what we can do in this new year.
01/12/24 Our Christmas Newsletter is now out. If you would like to hear more about what we have been up to please join our mailing list to receive our newsletter via our Contact Form or email us at info@ukrainecp.org.
20/08/24 We have managed to run a Summer Mission to our friends in Transcarpahia again this year despite all the difficulties. A few weeks ago, a team of 16 went from the UK joined by some of our translator friends to offer support and encouragement to the 3 villages we have been visiting for over 20 years.
As in the last few years we have had to take a drastically cut back mission party. Despite this we were able to make a difference with house visits to the elderly who rarely get out and family has moved away, also some of the younger members of the team joined in with youth events the local church in Gyula had organised.
We had some new people to the mission and they were a family with 2 teenage girls. We are so blessed that we still attract people from our church families who are prepared to step out into the mission fields in this way.
Although this was a long weekend compared to the week-long missions in years gone by, we were still able to show our love and support and that closeness that you cannot experience over Teams/Zoom meetings.
Pastor Zoltan and Pastor Istvan, along with the villagers, were thrilled to see us and we long for the time when we can take more people and spend longer.
We are now planning our Winter Mission, which is normally a small team, and are hoping this can go ahead despite the war and the increased activity recently.
Thanks to everyone who continues to support us in prayer, service and financially. You are all part of our mission and we could not do it without you.
04/03/24 We are proud to announce that we have The Free Radicals performing again in Petersfield at St Peter's Church, on Wednesday 27 March, 7.30 pm.
It is free to enter and there will be a collection to entry, retiring collection to help support our work in Ukraine.
This talented team of performers have done similar concerts before and it will be a great night.
With Easter approaching their theme is "Lent Music for Ukraine".
Please go along if you can and have a super evening for a great cause.
22/01/24 With the war in Israel taking much of the news headlines at the moment it may be easy for some to forget that the war in Ukraine continues and is as devastating as ever in so many ways. As the winter approaches we are increasing our efforts to raise money to help do what we can to help both Transarpathia and the Kherson Region survive what lies ahead.
Thanks to the BBC for not "ignoring" the war in their news. Today in their television news broadcasts they carried a sobering video report from Kherson showing how the area continues to be on the front line of the war and how effected everyone is. This video is no longer available on the BBC iPlayer but can be seen on their YouTube site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89FxweRmfZk
and the content has been included on their website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67991772
31/8/23 We took a small team out to the 3 villages in Transcarpathia for our mini Summer Mission from 17th to 20th August.
Since Covid and the start of the war we have been unable to run the Summer Mission in the same way as in years gone by. However, our small team of 15 were able to meet some old friends and show that we are still here for them and will continue to do what we can to support them.
The team was overwhelmed with the love and thanks that the people in the village showed. They were asked to bring back and share how grateful the people in the village are that we still care for them and have not let the war diminish our commitment to keep supporting them physically, financially and in love and prayer.
15/6/23 The horrific destruction of the Dnipro river dam has resulted in our Ukrainian friends (on both sides of the river) being flooded out.
Homes of over 40 thousand people are in the risk area, much of Kherson is flooded, people are being evacuated, there are electricity outages and the bombing isn’t stopping.
The ecological damage is unimaginable - and the the full impact on the agriculture and food production is not yet fully clear - Unfortunately with all the dead animals and sewage now in the water, experts are expecting serious health consequences for people with highly contagious diseases likely to become more prevalent over the next few weeks unless action on clean water and sanitation can be taken immediately.
Through our tried and trusted network, we are deploying emergency help where it is needed most - but we cannot do this alone and would value your generosity at this time.
Please visit the 'how can you help?' section of our website for ways to donate.
7/5/23 We are planning what we do for our Summer Mission in August to the 3 villages we support in Transcarpathia in Western Ukraine.
We have some flights booked already so that we take advantage of cheaper pricing but are not sure what the programme looks like yet. The war is still too uncertain to plan too much but we are doing what we can and will try and take as many people over as possible and work out how best to offer support whilst there.
Please continue your fundraising efforts to allow us to help whereever we can.
12/3/23 Last night (Saturday) saw a wonderful "Concert for Peace" from The Petersfield Choir at St Peter's Church, Petersfield. Funds were raised for UCP and we want to thank everyone involved for their ongoing support. It was a wonderful night and there are a few more coming up in Petersfield in the next few weeks ..... watch out for more news here about them.
7/2/23 Some of our team have just got back from the Winter Mission to our 3 villages in the south west of Ukraine: the Transcapathia region.
It was great to visit our friends in person and see first hand some of the hardships they are dealing with. Power cuts continue to happen throughout the day and there is an strong feeling of despair over the situation with the war. A large part of the despair is the uncertainty of the future and that so many men from the villages have been taken to fight. Those who have not yet been served draft papers live in daily/hourly fear; shared by their families and friends too.
Despite this we were shown wonderful hospitality and we were able to spend time praying and meeting key people to see how best we can continue to support them now and in the future.
They all wanted us to bring back and share with you their heartfelt thanks for not forgetting them and for all the prayers and financial support. So many times we heard messages of love and gratitude for UCP's help and the difference it is making in their lives and gives them a hope for the future.
27/12/23 With your help we have been able to support the villages in Transcarpathia with some Christmas gifts for all the children. Most families continue to struggle to do the things we take for granted and providing some money for additional presents has meant so much to them all.
Many of the children do not have their father's at home as they have been taken to fight. Your generosity has helped the children, the families and the whole community to know that we still care and want them to enjoy the blessings at Christmas time even in the midst of their difficulties.
We were also able to provide money for wood to be bought so that homes could be heated more often. With the winter coming we know that pensioners and others do not have the money to buy enough wood to heat their homes and water. You are making such a difference with every penny you give us.
Remember, 100% of the money you give goes directly to those in most need. Our trusted partners on the ground know where the money is best used and they send us lovely pictures and words of thanks.
30/11/23 The evening with "The Free Radicals" in St Peter's Church, Petersfield was a huge success. The songs and poetry put everyone in the Christmas spirit and everyone had a lot of fun. It was an excellent way to prepare for the Christmas celebrations.
It also raised an amazing amount of money for us to use in Ukraine. Thank you so much to "The Free Radicals", all those behind the scenes making the evening such a great event and all those who turned up and supported. An incredible thank you also to everyone who gave so generously to provide funds for us to use at this very difficult time. We will add some details soon to show how some of this money was used.
30/9/23 As the war continues and winter approaches we are doing all we can to support the people of Transcarpathia and Kherson.
Kherson is taking a lot of our focus as the bombing has increased over the last few weeks. Our partners on the ground tell us that a few months ago there were about 6 shells landing each day and now there are around 60. See our "Supporting Kherson" page for more information.
In the Transcarpathia villages they are a safe from the bombs but life remains hard as the country is focused on fighting the war. With winter approaching we are continuing to help them buy wood and other resources to distribute to those who are most vulnerable and cannot buy or source it for themselves.
We are increasing our push for funds as the war intensifies and winter approaches. Please help where you can to help us make a difference to those in greatest need.
..... this is a "call to action" for you and those you know, as we do what we can at this increasingly difficult time in Ukraine.
Preparations for Mission 2026
As with the last few Summer Mission trips, we plan to make a visit to the villages of Transcarpathia and will assemble a team of people keen to help with children, youth and the community. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in joining us so we can give you more details.
All of our preparations are reliant on being able to travel, if the current war situation allows.
Winter Mission 2026
Our Winter Mission team plan to visit early February 2026 for a long weekend of bible study and fellowship with the elders from all 3 villages in Transcarpathia. This is always a wonderful opportunity for us to spend time with the Elders and often share with them our own church study series. We were grateful for your prayer and look forward ot our next winter mission.
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