In 2014, when Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and Crimea, Father Andriy Zelinskyy, a Jesuit priest, was the first military chaplain to authorized to enter the warzone. Father Zelinskyy quickly found his place at the front providing pastoral care. Since then, he has spent almost three years in frontline trenches and positions, including combat in the Donbas and near Debaltseve, ministering to soldiers defending their homeland, their humanity, and their lives.
