Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 456):

Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Psalm 6:8‭-‬10

106 POWs returned home today. More than half of them were considered missing in the Bakhmut area.

Another heartwarming story was shared by Yelyzaveta Goncharova, a journalist and former resident of Bakhmut (translated and edited below):

A stranger wrote to me on FB messenger. He was a military man and got into my [Bakhmut] apartment due to military necessity (my balcony is very convenient – you get an outlook on the whole city).
He wrote that he was impressed by my library of Ukrainian literature, which he did not expect to see in a Bakhmut apartment [many expect Bakhmut to be “Russian” because of being located in the Donetsk region]. And he was a historian, so he was interested.
He found my name tag and identified the owner of the house. And then he discovered my books of reports somewhere on the floor (I probably bought them for gifts). He asked for permission to take the books to read with his brothers-in-arms. He also asked if there was anything special I wanted to get from the apartment. I asked him to pick up archival documents that my father left for my son about the history of Bakhmut through several generations of our family.
A week later, he got the folders with documents. We exchanged messages and discussed books and patriotism in the Donetsk region.
One more week later, my apartment completely burned down, and our city block was occupied.
And there were no messages from this man. Today, I received a parcel with documents. He has left Bakhmut alive.

This war has brought us closer together. Total strangers reaching out to each other, offering their care and support. People of different nations showing solidarity and providing practical aid. It’s a magnificent outpouring of love that we have been witnessing and experiencing. Thank you for being this love in our world!