Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 442):

I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Psalm 142:5

Over the past few days, Ukrainian forces conducted some successful counterattacks around Bakhmut and advanced 2.6 km along a 3 km frontline. This is great news. To a certain extent, this was possible because the Russian troops (both the regular army and the Wagner group) abandoned their positions and hastily retreated, leaving behind some of their ammunition. It looks like they are terrified of the promised counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army and panic when they see maneuvers.
Today, there was great panic in the Russian military blogs – they were writing about Ukraine’s troops advancing in many directions (including into the territory of Russia), and it seemed like they no longer knew what was true. We often ask the Lord to send fear and confusion over the enemy army, so this is an answer to our prayers. Lord, we ask that You open the eyes of our enemy, help them see the magnitude of Your army defending Ukraine, let them flee in fear, bring them to repentance, help them surrender, and stop this bloodshed.

We all eagerly await the counteroffensive because it means the de-occupation of our land, the liberation of our people, and because it brings us one step closer to our victory. However, I appreciate that our officials remember that military success is not more important than people. We see that Russians have no regard for human life, as they treat their people as cannon fodder. What a stark difference to hear our President say, “We can go forward and be successful [with the weapons that we have]. However, it might cause us to lose many people. I think this is unacceptable. So we have to wait. We still need some time.” Lord, we ask that You bless our leadership (both military and political) with wisdom, insight, and understanding. Be their guide and let them come to You for counsel.