Ukrainian Christian Arsen Kotenee said that God gave him a message for his country: Ukraine will win against Russia.
“I just started praying, my spirit, and I received this word: that Russia will be defeated,” Kotenee said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). "When you hear all the dangers, don't be in panic, pray like a shield, when you pray, lift up your hands, so that's what we are doing.”
Kotenee lives in Lviv, an area of Ukraine that was seen as a safe haven for the first nearly two months of the war. But recently Russia has started attacking the city and it saw its first fatalities.
It is also a very Christian community, home to almost 100 churches. The faithful have wrapped up many of the churches’ statutes to protect them in case of attack, CBN reported.
Heading into Orthodox Easter, which takes place on April 24, the churches were packed with Christians praying for a victory.
Kotenee said that he, his wife and young children are staying put because that is what he believes God wants him to do.
“I am not scared because I understand my life belongs to Christ,” Kotenee said.
Another resident, 20-year-old Helena, expressed similar sentiments: “We have a Christian tradition that Christ was risen, and Ukraine will be risen too,” she told CBN. “We strongly believe that the enemy will fall down, and we will have this victory.”