A 5:00 a.m. phone call from a congregation elder awakened Brother Femi Durodola and his wife, Yana. “The brother said: ‘Don’t worry, just get ready. The Russian army is coming to Kyiv!’” Yana relates. “At that point, I felt my whole body tense up.”

The newly married couple got dressed, prepared the last cup of coffee they would enjoy in their home, and read the text for that day. It read: “Your strength will be in keeping calm and showing trust.” (Isaiah 30:15) Femi fervently prayed to Jehovah. Femi, who is from Nigeria, and Yana, a native of Ukraine, grabbed their go bags and left everything else behind to seek refuge in the Netherlands.

That experience is being played out repeatedly by our brothers and sisters who have made the personal decision to flee Ukraine after the February 24, 2022, invasion by Russia. There are some 130,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ukraine. To date, more than 36,000 Witnesses have made the decision to flee from their homes and over 16,000 of them have fled to other countries. Many are leaving behind their homes, jobs, and congregations. During the conflict, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not permitted to leave the country. However, men who are citizens of other countries are among the exceptions.

Equipped with only the essentials, those fleeing are boarding trains and buses to embark on arduous journeys to safety, sometimes not knowing what the final destination will be. With their faith in Jehovah to bolster them, they leave war-torn cities, uncertain if they will ever return.

“We left everything behind. We took only a few things,” Yana says. “This situation really reminded us that the only thing that matters is your relationship with Jehovah.”

Air-raid sirens blared and the thud of exploding shells echoed near Sister Lilia Antoniuk’s home in Kyiv. Burned-out cars and the debris from buildings and bridges littered the roadway.

Lilia and her daughter, 17-year-old Oleksandra, made the decision to get out. For several days, they traveled on a crowded train to Poland. They had very little food and had to remain standing for several hours. The sisters’ anxiety lifted when they arrived in Przemyśl, Poland.

“Once we saw the brothers with the ‘JW.ORG’ signs, we knew everything would be all right,” Lilia says. The sisters were taken to a Kingdom Hall where they could get warm, eat, and rest before being quickly relocated to private homes.

“We felt Jehovah’s care and our faith was strengthened,” said Lilia, who has since traveled to Germany. “I’m really thankful to Jehovah for his love and for the brothers and sisters who are ready to help in difficult times.”

Sister Anastasiia Kovalyova described how invading forces attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia from the air. She saw the bright flashes from mortar fire and heard the explosions from her apartment. The constant bombing was traumatic for Anastasiia’s young nephew and niece, aged seven and three, so the family decided to leave. “Because we couldn’t take many things with us, we lacked clothes and other items,” Anastasiia relates. “But the brothers took care of everything. We had everything we needed and even more.” Anastasiia, her sister-in-law, Anya, and the children traveled to Germany through Poland.

Sister Anastasiia Shchukina and her mother, Sister Olha Lysenko, locked themselves in the cold basement of their small house every time the air-raid sirens howled. The pioneer sisters were serving where the need is great in the small town of Brailiv, Vinnytsia Oblast. They wrestled with the decision to leave but ultimately decided to go as the situation became more precarious. Taking only necessities, they traveled—with little sleep—by train for two days. Fleeing was not easy for Olha, who is 58 years old and in poor health. They arrived in Rzeszów, Poland, at 2:00 a.m. Their spiritual family was there to greet them. “Despite the late hour, the brothers were waiting for us,” Anastasiia said. “We are immensely grateful to Jehovah and the brothers and sisters.”

In the city of Sumy, Brother Andrzej Chyba—a Polish citizen—and his wife, Elizabeth, from Britain, huddled in the basement of a brother’s house, along with five others. Fighter jets could be heard overhead, as well as gunfire and bombs. The brothers took courage by watching the feature Bible drama O Jehovah, . . . I Trust in You, which features the account of King Hezekiah as the Assyrians were poised to attack Jerusalem.

“The brothers have sent us various Scriptural thoughts, such as the encouragement to read Psalm 27,” said Andrzej, who is now in Poland, along with his wife.

We are confident that Jehovah will bless our brothers who have ‘taken the loss of all material things’ as they look ahead to a future without war.—Philippians 3:8.