Lieutenant Taras Kotsyuba, who has also been a military chaplain since 2014, explained why religion is so important to Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines. It’s not just about the weapons and rockets, it’s about spiritual support.” “The main aim of chaplaincy is to give a spiritual umbrella to the personnel who are fighting for us. “But even those men and women who are fighting, they also need some protection. Our men and women are so strong because they protect Ukraine from the enemies that are so cruel, that came to Ukraine to kill and rape a lot of people.

“We have the understanding that the umbrella that covers Ukraine, it’s our armed forces. “Once when Russia bombed Dnipro, my granddaughter who is four years old put her toys under the stairs and covered them with an umbrella,” said Lt Povorotnyi, who decided to become a military chaplain after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. Lieutenant Dmytro Povorotnyi, a priest from Dnipro in central Ukraine, was one of the officers who took part. The participants learned how to deliver pastoral care, spiritual support and moral guidance to soldiers on the battlefield. The two-week programme run by the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department (RAChD) saw an initial group of 10 Ukrainians train at a camp near Warminster in Wiltshire. Ukrainian military chaplains completed training with the British Army before heading back to the war-ravaged country to give front-line troops a “spiritual umbrella”.

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