Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 350):

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
Psalm 50:23

As a child, I never understood why my grandma thought it was important to remember the date when the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies. It was one of the dates from a history book to me. I understand her much better now. As we approach the 1-year mark, every day, I ask myself, “What was I doing on this day a year ago? Did I know what was about to happen?” I know that these memories will haunt us for years, and the month of February will always trigger anxiety until Russia is a threat no more.

Around this time last year, we felt the approach of doom. We had our emergency backpacks ready, downloaded maps on our phones (in case there’s no internet), and made sure the gas tank in our car was at least 3/4 full at all times. We worked out an action plan and knew what to do if the invasion started when we were away from home, or if there was no cell phone reception. I remember hushed conversations during coffee breaks when everyone was thinking about the same questions, but few dared to speak them out loud. On Fridays, I volunteered at my son’s school, and I wished I could be there every day to make sure I was with him if anything happened.

Around this time last year, we came to visit my grandma. It was unbearable to stay home and keep checking the news, so we went for a walk. There is a 600-year-old oak in this village. It is one of the tourist landmarks, located on one of the oldest streets by an old cemetery. We spent the whole day walking around, and just for a moment, it felt like all the news and prognoses were just a product of one’s sick imagination, and invasion would not happen. In just under two weeks, we returned to the village, leaving behind our home and taking our son to safety. We had hoped it would be for a few weeks, perhaps a few months, but a year has already gone by, yet so many of those concerns remain.

Please, pray for our defenders as the fighting intensifies. Pray for the people in the temporarily occupied territories. Pray for those far from the combat zone but still shelled daily by the Russian terrorists – the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, the Dnipropetrovsk region, and Kherson. Pray for all of us to keep fighting the good fight.