Voice of Ukraine

From: Ira Kapitonova (Day 718):

‭‭Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
Psalm‬ ‭118:25‬

Usually, a few days after a POW swap, we get to read more personal accounts of what life in Russian captivity looks like. Those stories stun me. For example, a man from a remote mountainous village in the west of Ukraine was tortured for not knowing the Russian language and speaking his heavy dialect of Ukrainian. Many of them have developed chronic illnesses because of malnutrition and harsh conditions they had to live in for almost two years.

Among those taken captive by the Ukrainian army, there are a few people from the other side of the world – Sierra Leone, Somali, Cuba, India, Malaysia, and Nepal. All of them were recruited by the Russians and promised good money ($2,000 a month) and Russian citizenship. It’s easy to make promises when you are not going to keep them because you count on your recruits becoming cannon fodder.

Lord, have mercy and give us success!