From: Ira Kapitonova Kyiv (Day 918)
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:3
Sirens went off soon after I posted last night’s update. The air raid lasted for more than five hours. There were lots of kamikaze drones in the air.
We (and almost everyone else) were late to school, but I still decided to do opening activities with my students. We talked about the abundance of God’s love and how He generously gives us more than we will ever need. Then I asked students what we lack, what we need more of. The responses of my 4th-graders left me speechless – peace, electricity, weapons, air defense, time… Their words were incredibly profound, but that’s because the war has been present in their young lives every day.
Ten years ago, the last days of August became one of the bloodiest massacres of this war, also known as the Ilovaisk tragedy. The Russian army surrounded Ukrainian troops. They were promised a humanitarian corridor to retreat, but as they started their withdrawal, the Russians opened fire. Many Ukrainian soldiers (over 300 people) were killed that day. That’s why August 29 is the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine.
In memory of the fallen defenders, Ukrainian restaurants started a tradition of setting aside a few tables as if reserving them for those who will never come. These tables usually have sunflower bouquets because many soldiers were killed in the sunflower field near Ilovaisk.
Voice of Ukraine 