Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 362):

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:1-2

With the approach of the 1-year anniversary, there’s been a lot of worrisome news. I mentioned a few of them yesterday. As we mourn the Heavenly Hundred and the beginning of this “special military operation” 9 years ago, as we relive the pre-invasion days in our memory and anticipate possible provocations and massive missile attacks in the next couple of days, it is easy to give in to gloom and despair. That is why today’s visit of the President of the United States was a powerful encouragement to many Ukrainians and a slap in the face of the Russian dictator.

This was the first visit of an American president in 15 years and a visit to a country at war. In fact, air raid sirens went off as soon as the information about his visit became public, but they did not ruin the day. This official visit during one of the most intense moments was a powerful statement of support and responsibility, and you cannot overestimate the importance of this visit. We know that the people of the US stand with us, and we are incredibly grateful for all the support, but seeing it confirmed on the highest level is a great encouragement, especially as the Russian propaganda tries to convince you that “the West” has given up on Ukraine.

We’ve had American presidents visit Ukraine before. A few weeks before Ukraine’s independence was proclaimed in 1991, George Bush Sr. visited Ukraine and delivered the famous “chicken Kyiv speech,” cautioning against “suicidal nationalism” (i.e., independence). Bill Clinton visited Ukraine a few times during his presidency. One of his visits was related to signing the denuclearization memorandum, according to which Ukraine had to give up its nuclear weapons (yes, Ukraine had nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union and was the third largest nuclear power in the world) in exchange for the territorial defense guarantees from Russia and the US. Next, George W. Bush visited Ukraine in the spring of 2008 (a few months before Russia invaded Georgia) and focused on the need for Ukraine and Georgia to be allowed to start the process of joining NATO despite resistance from Russia and skepticism from some European countries – unfortunately, this never happened and we see the consequences today. Looking back, we know how those visits turned out. We pray that today’s visit of the President of the United States will one day be viewed as a historic event that helped Ukraine gain its victory.

The day ended with more encouraging news. Russia launched missiles at Kharkiv, but none of the rockets landed on Ukraine’s territory. They exploded midair over the Russian territory (Belgorod) due to malfunction or Russian air defense shooting down their own missiles. Whatever the reason for that is, we praise God for it.

Please, keep praying for Ukraine over the next week, as this may be a crucial time. May God reveal His glory and power.