SEJ Ground Report
- Anna Saladino
- May 4
- 2 min read
Ukraine | Faith Under Fire with Valerii Riabokonko
Unfiltered perspectives from the ground.
Some conversations inform you.
Some conversations humble you.
And then there are conversations that make you look down at the warm cup in your hands… and realize someone, somewhere, is quietly dreaming of something you nearly overlooked.
In the first official episode of SEJ Round Table: Ground Report, Anna sits down with Valerii Riabokonko, who, alongside his wife Tanya, has chosen to remain in Ukraine while war continues around them.
Not because it’s easy.
Not because it’s safe.
But because, in his words:
“If I am running…then what does my faith cost?”
That sentence hung in the air.
And then came another:
“I would dream to have a cup of coffee in the morning without fear… without shelling… without the feeling there may be nothing tomorrow. I would dream to have a cup of coffee like this.”
Silence.
The kind that makes you stop taking ordinary things for granted.
In this deeply human Ground Report, Valerii shares what life actually looks like beyond the headlines:
• raising families under the sound of air raid sirens
• serving communities while living under constant uncertainty
• choosing presence when leaving would be easier
• holding onto faith when tomorrow is never guaranteed
• finding courage, humor, and humanity in places most people only see through news clips
We also discuss a film Valerii strongly recommends for those wanting to better understand the human cost of war: 20 Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov.
This is not geopolitical commentary.
This is not debate.
This is what it looks like when faith, family, and human dignity refuse to evacuate.
🎙 Watch the full Ground Report below.
About Ground Report
SEJ Round Table: Ground Report moves beyond headlines and into lived experience.
These conversations bring forward voices from within the environment… individuals navigating crisis, culture, faith, leadership, and complexity in real time.
This is not commentary.This is not debate.
This is presence.This is context.This is what it looks like on the ground.
🌍 Where we Travel the World Unfiltered🤝 Where Strangers Become Tribe🍽 Where Global Peace Begins at Kitchen Tables
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