Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 427):

Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
Psalm 127:1

April 26, 1986, is the day of the Chornobyl disaster caused by Soviet negligence, design flaws, and human error. The radiation emitted by the explosion at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant spread over most of Europe. The area around the NPP is still restricted. Last year, when Russian troops invaded the Kyiv region, they fell victim to their ignorance. They set up a camp and dug trenches in the restricted area, the Red Forest (the name comes from the ginger-brown color of the pine trees after they died following the absorption of high radiation levels). Soon, many soldiers started showing symptoms of radiation poisoning, having spent much time in the contaminated area without any protective measures. Can you imagine the level of radioactive damage if the site is still dangerous, even after 37 years?

Russia continues the Soviet tradition of disrespecting people and nature to achieve its goals. Last year, Chornobyl NPP was occupied and packed with military equipment. Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the 9th largest in the world, is still occupied and dangerously close to the active combat zone. For the first time in history, nuclear facilities are used in military actions. Russian missiles often go dangerously low over other Ukrainian NPPs. It is a threat to the whole world.

Please, pray for Russia to be stopped so that nuclear disasters (as well as threats of nuclear war) never happen again.