The Rev. Franklin Graham, CEO of Christian outreach organization Samaritan's Purse, told Newsmax on Monday that the widespread devastation caused by the destruction of a key dam in Ukraine has resulted in "a very chaotic mess."
Graham explained on "The Record with Greta Van Susteren" that hundreds of square miles are now under water following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine last week, reportedly at the hands of Russian forces. Although some of those areas are now beginning to recede, Graham said that Ukraine's people must now somehow contend with "the mud and … the debris and everything that it leaves behind."
"Food is in short supply, and that's what we're focusing on right now," he said, adding that because "clean drinking water "is something that's needed desperately," Samaritan's Purse has been working on providing reverse osmosis filtration systems and "truckloads of drinking water, bottled water."
Graham also said that the problem is compounded because Ukraine is also "a war zone."
"There's shelling that continues to take place," he explained. "Some of our people … have already had to take cover. They talk about land mines floating and going down river, and who knows where those things will end up? It's a very chaotic mess."
Although the reverend and Samaritan's Purse are doing whatever they can to provide relief, he pointed out that such efforts are tough enough "in the middle of peacetime. … To do this in the middle of a war situation, it just is very, very hard."
Rev. Graham said he prays for the people of Ukraine and wants them to know that "God hasn't forgotten them."
"Jesus Christ understands our suffering," he said. "He suffered on a cross for our sins and died. It took our sins to the grave. He understands pain. He went through more pain than any human being in the history of the world.
"He understands, and He loves us and He cares for us. So, we're just there in Jesus' name, and we're going to try to touch as many people as we can."
Host Greta Van Susteren turned the conversation to Pat Robertson, the influential religious broadcaster and founder of the Christian Coalition, who died last week at the age of 93. Graham remembered Robertson fondly and described the man who started Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Regent University, Operation Blessing, and the Flying Hospital, among others, as "an innovator."
"He was a gentle man … a generous man," he said of Robertson. "Over the years, he was of great help to me, and to the ministries of Samaritans Purse. [And] he was a close friend of my father [evangelist Billy Graham]."
"We're going to miss him. The church is going to miss him. He was a voice for the Lord Jesus Christ, and just a tremendous individual."
Robertson had also made a bid for the U.S. presidency in 1988, but he ultimately suspended his GOP campaign and supported George H.W. Bush, who won the election. Van Susteren asked Rev. Graham what Robertson would think about the state of politics today.
"Greta, it is a mess," he said. "The only hope is God. There's no politician that can straighten this out."
The reverend acknowledged former President Donald Trump's 77th birthday on Tuesday, and although he didn't directly mention Trump's federal indictment court appearance in Miami, Graham said he knows that "people will be praying for him, his wife, Melania, and their entire family."
"The political world is so polarized and so politicalized, I don't have a whole lot of hope," he added. "We need God to intervene."
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