Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova Day 320):

May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
Psalm 20:5

Intense attacks on Bakhmut and even more intense attacks on Soledar (about 15 km/10 miles to the northeast of Bakhmut). The Russians come one wave after another, trying to capture the almost completely destroyed city.

The shelling of a market square in Shevchenkove (Kharkiv region) killed two women and left 6 civilians injured, including a 13-year-old girl.

The shelling of Ochakiv (Mykolaiv region) left 15 people injured, including a 2-year-old.
Kherson is shelled dozens of times every day (Kherson region was shelled over 77 times yesterday). During today’s attack, they hit an intersection in a residential city block, which set one of the buildings on fire. One person was killed.

During a missile attack on Kramatorsk (Donetsk region, about 50 km/30 miles from Bakhmut), they hit a car that was moving on the road, killing its passengers.

As I was reading these reports throughout the day, they mixed up in my brain. Shelling of Kherson? Didn’t it happen yesterday? Missiles on Kramatorsk? I remember reading about it before – could it be old news? Unfortunately, what used to be shocking at the beginning of this full-scale war becomes “old news” because of its frequency.

I’m incredibly grateful that we see glimpses of hope among these heart-wrenching reports. Ukrainian combat medics performed a unique surgery to remove a grenade (!) from a soldier’s body. It’s a miracle that it did not explode.

There is another miracle that is undeniably the hand of God. Ukraine is under a bit of a cold front now, and we know that the Russians often plan their massive missile attacks on the days like this to leave people without electricity and heat. However, they haven’t attacked yet, and the temperature is expected to rise to a few degrees above freezing by the end of the week. However, the interesting phenomenon I mentioned can be seen on a temperature map. I saw this map shared a week ago, but I dismissed it because I thought it was fake. So we all know that Russia had been using natural gas as leverage to get European governments to make favorable decisions. This year, they cut the gas supply and hoped all of Europe would freeze this winter. Well, if you look at the map, you’ll see that the cold front miraculously stays within Russian borders. Yes, there has been a temperature drop in Ukraine and the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, but it’s mild compared to what Russia is experiencing. And the southwest of Europe keeps enjoying the unusually warm winter weather. Isn’t this a miracle? Doesn’t it remind you of the Old Testament times when God would prominently show His hand to call nations to repentance?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
Psalm 20:7-8