Baptist church faces arson attacks

SUMY, Ukraine — A spate of arson attacks on a newly built Baptist church in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sumy has forced the congregation to guard the church around the clock. Church members claim “laser weapons” are being used to ignite fires. The attacks began Dec. 27, then all was quiet until Jan. 17, when unexplained fires happened repeatedly.

“It is impossible to count all the incidents of fires we have had,” Pastor Mikhail Koplik declared in a Jan. 23 statement. In the wake of these incidents, members of other local Baptist churches arrived to help keep guard on the premises, with some 30 people on duty each night. As the incidents continue, the police have begun to blame the church members themselves.