UKRAINE

“Undismayed by any of your opponents. This will be a clear sign, for them that they are to be lost, and for you that you are to be saved. This comes from God.”

(Phil 1,28)

POPULATION

43 MILLION

Project

Support for Radio Maria in promoting peace and support for the country’s Catholic minorities

Ukraine

We broadcast for 24 hours: our live programmes start at 7 in the morning and finish at 11 in the evening. At night we broadcast recorded programmes, but not all night. We also have night broadcasts four times a month, when we pray with the people.

My experience, especially in this last year, is that Our Lady has prepared everything for this radio, she has prepared her own radio to help people, especially to pray. When the war broke out, we started praying a lot. Another thing Our Lady thought about for this difficult time in Ukraine is that she wants to be with her people through the Radio Maria frequencies. Through all our broadcasts we see that Our Lady is present in our parishes, in our homes and in our families.

Current status: How is Radio Maria Ukraine today?

We currently have two studios: our main studio is in Kiev. A few months ago, we set up another studio in the city of Ternopil, from which we broadcast locally for about three hours a day.

We have two Radio Maria studios and we broadcast on 12 FM frequencies. Not all of Ukraine is covered: all central and eastern parts of the country plus two major cities to the east and south, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. We also have a DAB frequency in Kiev. There are ten permanent employees who work together with the director. There are about two hundred volunteers and they come to the studios to host the programmes. Every evening and on Saturdays and Sundays, only volunteers work at Radio Maria. It is difficult to say the exact number of volunteers, because at the beginning of the war many of them left Kiev for their own safety. They were afraid.

We have many testimonies, especially in recent months, of people hiding from Russian bombs in underground hiding places, where they listened to Radio Maria. We have testimonies of people who have survived this difficult time, especially in the first months, only thanks to Radio Maria, because we have always prayed, we have always heard the voices of our bishops, of our priests, the voice of the people in other Ukrainian cities, and this presence of the church, of Our Lady helped us not to fall into temptation, not to be overwhelmed by fear and depression. Finally, I can also say that in these months of war many people who didn’t have any faith have begun listening to Radio Maria, thanks to this work of evangelisation.