Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 352):

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
Psalm 52:1

It would be accurate to say that this day was one long air raid. The first kamikaze drones came in the middle of the night. Then a couple of waves of missiles throughout the day and another wave of kamikaze drones at night. It annoys us, ruins our plans, and adds to our anxiety, but it cannot break us.

According to preliminary reports, the enemy used 29 S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles and 71 air and sea-based cruise missiles. Our defenders shot down 61 cruise missiles. They hit power infrastructure in six regions of Ukraine. Kharkiv suffered the most, but the enemy failed to achieve a total blackout. We praise God for His mercy and thank our allies for the reliable air-defense systems we received.

Two of the cruise missiles aimed at the western regions of Ukraine went through the air space of Moldova and Romania. Moldova had suffered from Russian missiles before – parts of rockets landed in its territory during a few of the previous attacks. Romania, however, denied that the missiles entered its air space and claimed that they were 20 miles from the border. It is a complex issue as Romania is a NATO state, so all statements should be reasonable and deliberate. Admitting that Russian missiles went into the airspace of a NATO country would inevitably call for action, leading to escalation. However, we hope today’s incident serves as proof and a reminder that Russia poses a threat not just to Ukraine but to other European countries as well. Perhaps it would encourage Western governments to be more decisive in providing military aid, including military airplanes, to Ukraine.

There are signs of the expected Russian offense already taking place in the Donetsk and Luhansk region with intense attacks in five directions. However, some experts say Russia may try to distract our forces by starting an attack in another location – Kharkiv and Sumy regions are considered the most likely locations if Russia chooses to go through with this plan. Please, pray for God’s protection for our defenders and the people living in the war zone. May our enemies fall prey to their own wicked schemes.