Ukrainian Pastor Pavlo Unguryan, speaking out to Newsmax on Wednesday from the First Baptist of Odesa in southern Ukraine, said Christmas Day attacks on his country's evangelical churches have become common because the Russians "very much hate Ukrainian Christmas."
"They hate Ukrainian evangelicals because we decide to be together with all Christian civilization in these days of December, when the Christmas season, holy season, come to our Earth, to our planet," Unguryan said on Newsmax's "National Report."
"From the atheistic time, Russian propaganda, atheistic propaganda put Christmas just on second place to move up the New Year and Communist Party and the same tradition have in Russia," the pastor said. "They don't want to have a Christmas as a main celebration in the winter season."
Russians, he added promote their leader, Vladimir Putin, and his regime, "but not the Jesus Christ, who is the leader."
Unguryan served for 11 years in Ukraine's parliament and authored a law to designate Dec. 25 as the official day to celebrate Christmas so it could join in with Western civilization.
"But Russia, they hate Ukraine, hate especially evangelicals," said Unguryan. "They try to strike our churches, our housing, buildings."
Christmas services were held in the Odesa church's bomb shelter, he added, because Russia attacked it and other Ukrainian churches last Christmas, he added.
"Unfortunately, many, many people were killed in this more than 1,000 days of war, including 40 pastors were killed, more than 700 church buildings were destroyed, exploded by the Russian regime," the pastor said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier Wednesday said that Russia launched an "inhumane" Christmas Day attack on his country's power grid, and said Putin "deliberately chose Christmas to attack" with more than 170 missiles and drones.
Unguryan said Tuesday night was a "horrible" Christmas Eve, as "all of us including our kids" were in bomb shelters because of the Russian attacks.
"Right now, in many places of Ukraine, we don't have electricity in our churches," he said. "We have just generators."
The Russians also try to attack other places like schools and hospitals on special holidays like Christmas, Easter, or the Ukrainian day of independence, said Unguryan.
"Right now, it's a very critical situation because the country does not have enough power, energy," he added. "And last night, early morning at 4 a.m., it was a massive attack on the western Ukraine, where we have a just transition energy hub, Burshtyn transition energy hub. And they attacked that place, which united Ukraine not just with Ukrainian nuclear stations, but also with European energy stations."
He called on the world to pray for Ukraine's Christians.
"Please pray for us to this day, because we just want to worship our Lord who protects us and helps us. And thank you very much for your interest and your prayers," he said.
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