Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 347):

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
Psalm 47:2

According to our intelligence, Russia is planning to start a new massive attack within the next 10 days – they desperately need victory reports for the 1-year anniversary. They have been accumulating their troops in the western part of the Luhansk region (near Kreminna and Lyman) and the south of the Donetsk region. They brought the most qualified officers and the best military equipment there. Please, pray for God’s miracle and protection over our soldiers there.

I know that there are no coincidences for God. Everything happens at His timing and at His will. When I read some war accounts, I wonder what God had in mind. I am not asking why, but I wonder how this fits into His greater plan. That is one of the questions I would like to ask God when I see Him.

But now, while my knowledge is limited by this side of eternity, I choose to see the pieces of the puzzle that bring glory to His name.

• The doctors pulled out an unexploded armor-piercing projectile from a soldier’s body. It burned through the skin and into the body, but the doctors managed to get it out. I guess Ukrainian bodies are harder than armor.
• The Russians attacked Kharkiv this morning, damaging a city center and a couple residential buildings. Four people got injuries – thankfully, the buildings did not collapse. An older woman was brought out of the damaged building on a stretcher. As her relative explained, the lady can barely move and left her bed to wash her face this morning when the missile hit. There was debris on her bed, but she was unharmed.
• A Russian bullet scraped the helmet of a Ukrainian defender somewhere near Izium but caused no damage.

When I get overwhelmed by the tragedies of war (because it consists of millions of personal tragedies), when it gets harder to make sense of life, I look at these glimpses of hope and am reminded of the thousands of reasons to praise His name.