On July 24^th, Abhinanda dasa reported that Alchevsk, a city between Donetsk and Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine, which had been relatively peaceful until now, looked like it would become the next battleground. “There is a large devotee population in Alchevsk”, he says. “If the conflict moves into Alchevsk, there may be many more devotees looking for refuge.”

In the meantime the Ukrainian refugee campaign organizers reported that the capacity of Magdalinivka retreat center had reached its limits. Right now, approximately forty refugees are staying there, many of them women and children, and they are being provided maintenance from the Ukrainian Vaishnava Refugee Fund. 

In the last three days, due to the refugee center’s limited facilities, an additional twenty-seven adults and fifteen children, the majority of them from Lugansk, were relocated to devotees’ homes in Voznesensk, Poltava, Kiev, Akimovka, Sumi, Belogorodka, Pavlograd, Rostov-na-donu, Dnepropetrovsk, and Magdalinivka. Many of them were women and children with no savings and unable to bring many possessions.

Since there is a likelihood that there will be a large influx of refugees from Donetsk and Alchevsk, in the next few days the refugee campaign organizers are currently looking for facilities in Kiev. Many men will need to relocate near a major city in order to have the best opportunity of finding employment. Therefore, now that Magdalinivka is full, Kiev is being considered as the best option for them.

Please help the Ukrainian devotee refugees. Click here for more updates and offering donations: https://sites.google.com/a/niranjanaswami.org/ukrainian-vaisnava-refugee-fund/