LVIV, Ukraine—Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to assist fellow worshippers displaced by the war that has gripped the eastern region of Ukraine.

Of the approximately 7,500 Witnesses that have fled the war zone, almost 4,000 are being cared for by seven disaster relief committees organized by the Lviv branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The remaining victims are being accommodated by relatives and fellow worshippers in Ukraine and Russia. Six additional relief committees are caring for the more than 17,500 Witnesses still living in the war zone.

The Lviv branch confirmed that a total of six Witnesses have lost their lives since the war began. One Witness in Kramatorsk died on June 17, 2014, when a bomb exploded next to the car he was in. Bombs also took the lives of five other Witnesses living in the cities of Donetsk, Sloviansk, Rozkishne, and Luhansk.

As part of their relief aid, the branch office is also coordinating the rebuilding of several of the Witnesses’ places of worship and homes.

Media Contact(s):

International: J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5000

Ukraine: Vasyl Kobel, tel. +38 032 240 9323