From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 1306)
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
Psalm 106:8
I’ve realized that I have stopped keeping track of the attacks on Ukraine. And it’s not because I stopped caring, but because it’s impossible to contain it all over such a long period of time. Besides, how many major attacks have we had in the past month? Do we count only those that affected Kyiv? Should I count Kyiv and Dnipro because that’s where my parents-in-law live? Or should I count all the extended family? And what about my friends and their relatives? Ukraine may be the largest country in Europe, but it’s still small enough for us to have friends in every part of it.
On Fridays, my students work on various projects, and this time we’re learning more about geography and travel, planning a possible trip to Ukraine. Two years ago, when I created this project, I made a list of sights in every region of Ukraine, including Crimea and the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It was my statement of defiance and faith that those territories will soon be available for tourism. This year, when I sat down to update the project, I realized that the places in the occupied territories I mentioned two years ago are utterly destroyed. I spent hours agonizing over the dilemma of what sights I should include, but the realization of the war zone realities and landmines filling the landscapes there left me empty of ideas. I did come up with suggestions for the Crimea because its occupation is different, but I felt the deep grief for our eastern regions. Russia brought only destruction with no hope of restoration and prosperity there, and it’s hard to accept it and even harder to hope that things can be different.
So I’m not keeping track of the attacks on Ukraine, but I am encouraged by every successful Ukrainian strike on russian oil refineries. Each one of them brings the end of this war nearer, and we pray for the collapse of this colossus with feet of clay.
Today’s illustration is by Nikita Titov. The map of Ukraine with the words “Faith. Hope. Love.”
Voice of Ukraine 