Voice of Ukraine

From Jamie Peipon: In the picture are some Ukrainian flags in a jar which were dug up by Ukraine’s 103rd brigade. According to reports, a grandfather living in the Kharkiv Oblast had buried them so that russian soldiers would not find them during the occupation. The man had fled the area to Ukrainian controlled territory but contacted members of the territorial defense forces about the flags when he heard his village had been liberated. The brigade planned to sign one of the flags and see to it that it is returned to its rightful owner. The last time there were similar reports about the hiding of Ukrainian flags was during Soviet terror.

During the first days of the war, the world-famous Antonov 225 Mriya airplane was destroyed in Ukraine north of Kyiv. It was the world’s largest airplane and an amazing feat of Ukrainian engineering. Today, the Ukrainian aviation company announced that construction of a new Mriya (which is Ukrainian for “dream”) is now under way in a top-secret location. Some of the parts of the destroyed plane were salvaged and others are being created. According to Antonov, they have gathered 30% of the necessary parts for the plane’s construction. Ukraine was extremely proud of the previous Mriya and so it is very encouraging to hear of the new plane’s construction. The rebuilding of Mriya is an act that defiantly says that Ukraine will dream again. There is a future for dreams.

Over the past couple of days, russian media has reported that their 155th Naval Infantry Brigade has taken enormous losses during an attempt to take the small town of Pavlivka in the Donetsk Oblast. They report that they have suffered 300 killed/wounded in action over the course of three days of this offensive. Six armored vehicles have also been reported to be destroyed. This is the logical result of sending undertrained soldiers through the mud into fortified positions. There are also more reports of newly-mobilized russian soldiers surrendering around the city of Svatove. Some of these soldiers have been reporting that commanding officers abandoned them as soon as Ukraine brought the fight to them. Without effective communication, and without their commanding officers, these soldiers acknowledge that friendly fire has been a major issue. They weren’t sure who they were firing on and who was firing on them.

Another poll was released today which sheds some light on Ukraine’s will to fight. According to the poll, 90% of Ukrainians believe that in 10 years, Ukraine will be a prosperous country in the European Union. In addition, 96% of Ukrainians still say that they are willing to endure temporary material difficulties in order to achieve that goal.

“He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.”