Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 507):

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
Psalm 57:1

Some days, I feel like we live in the never-ending Groundhog Day. Missiles and kamikaze drones come again and again, and I get lost in the names of the cities that are attacked. Some of them are attacked daily, so I am often confused if it’s something new or something I already know about.

Today, I read that the Ukrainian government has opened an evacuation train route from Sumy. People will be able to get to Kyiv and get settled in a temporary refugee camp. This was a powerful flashback from over a year ago when my friend’s family was trying to evacuate from Sumy when the Russian army almost surrounded the city. People packing their entire lives into one suitcase or a couple of backpacks and going into the unknown. Russian missiles and artillery often attack Sumy because of its proximity to the border. I want to believe that this evacuation route was created to help people escape daily shelling, but I keep wondering if another invasion may be in store…

Some experts think Russia may try to regain its positions in Lyman (Donetsk region) and Kupiansk (Kharkiv region) – the cities that suffered greatly from the Russian occupation and were liberated in the fall of 2022. Will they have to relive these terrors?

Lord, have mercy!