Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 5, 2022 / 02:00 am (CNA).
A Catholic Ukrainian journalist is documenting day-to-day life in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country — and sharing her faith in God along the way.
“These days, I fall asleep with the rosary in my hands and the prayer ‘Hail Mary’ on my lips,” the journalist in Kyiv, who remains anonymous for security reasons, says in her most recent diary entry on March 3. “I believe I’m holding Mary’s hand. She’s nearby.”
St. Rita Radio, an EWTN affiliate in Norway, is translating and sharing the journalist’s daily messages in the form of a video and podcast series titled “Diary from Kyiv.” The first episode was released on Feb. 26.
The 3- to 6-minute video episodes (available on YouTube as well as Spotify and Apple Podcasts) feature a voice-over from a translator as images or short video clips from Ukraine appear. The unidentified journalist’s poignant words shine through, providing powerful imagery and thought-provoking sentiments.
“The question arises in my head, where is Christ in this?” she asks in the Feb. 28 episode. “He loves us, the Ukrainians, as well as the Russians, the Poles, and the Americans.”
“We are all his children. However, the devil has taken possession of hearts and blinded them, so there is war, destruction, and death,” she adds. “Today my task is to pray, be converted, do good as far as I can, and go through this Golgotha with trust in the Lord who passed through it first.”
A huge following
Pål Johannes Nes, who produced the series, told CNA that the diary project “started with an idea to show the story of the people living in war.”
The 42-year-old chief editor located in Haramsoya, Norway, founded St. Rita Radio in May 2020 with his wife, Erika Eva Nes. A year later, in 2021, they started working together with EWTN.
Even though it is a radio network, St. Rita Radio has been producing video for the last year, Nes added. He called “Diary from Kyiv” “a show made for social media.”
“The response has been almost too much, for a small Internet radio in Norway,” he said of the series’ success. “I think we are closing in on 1,000,000 views now. Every episode is shared 10-20,000 times.”
Today, Nes leads a team of four working together on the series as volunteers — including their journalist friend in Kyiv.
Nes said he knew the journalist prior to the invasion. “I asked her if she would be willing to tell her story,” he explained to CNA. “The story about how to live a life of faith during the time of war.”
Sustained by prayer
That story is unfolding in ways that neither of them ever could have imagined.
Recounting a recent attack in Zhytomyr that destroyed 10 buildings, injured 12, and killed 2, the journalist highlighted the good.
“We are already used to tragic news and it turns out that we often focus on it,” she said. “Or maybe we should start thanking God. For what? Even for the fact that 12 people did not die but live. For going through another night and another day.”
“Although we are failing from discouragement and despair because we want it to end sooner,” she added, “Jesus also fell but got up and continued carrying the cross.”
One of the most difficult days came on Feb. 27, when she remembered sleeping only two hours and spending the rest of her time in constant prayer. Not allowed outside, she recalled announced air strikes and shelling that hit, among other things, a children’s hospital.
“I’m texting all my friends to pray,” she said. “Today many people spent the night on their knees with the rosary in their hands, weeping and begging God for mercy.”
Throughout the episodes, the journalist thanked listeners for their prayers and asked them to continue to pray. She asked for the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to whom Ukraine is dedicated, she said, and St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Kyiv.
After a rocket fired at a Kyiv suburb just 30-35 kilometers (roughly 20 miles) from her home, the journalist realized the fragility of her own life, she said in her March 1 episode.
“We are alive, and it’s a miracle,” she said of the attack that came immediately after she watched Mass online. “It was an incredible experience to pray further, realizing that a rocket can hit at any moment and in my house, as well.”
The following day, she described the strange passage of time in Ukraine during the invasion. “Every day,” she said, “lasts like a whole year.”
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I am praying intensely, with daily Mass, the Eucharist, the Rosary, and Chaplet of Divine Mercy for an end to this unjust war, for the injured, killed, and for those who mourn for them. Please join me in your prayers.
In 2015 Ukraine formally and explicitly adopted a “military doctrine” in which it “defines” and classes Russia as “military adversary”; and made it public. This is clear evidence of criminal intent to wage aggressive war, which is a war crime. Also included in the “doctrine” is an affirmation of eventually joining NATO as an integral aspect of dealing with the named “adversary”; which implicates members of NATO in the plan of aggressive war against Russia. The was signed by Porochenko AFTER Ukraine committed to the Minsk Accord.
The idea that you want to wage a war but not start World War III, does not prevent or absolve you from being guilty of war crimes.
The quotation is from the first link, US Dept. of Defense, “U.S. Security Cooperation With Ukraine”.
‘ The United States remains dedicated to assisting Ukraine to advance its Euro-Atlantic aspirations in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine.
…..
The United States and its Allies have established a Multinational Joint Commission and Joint Multinational Training Group to coordinate international efforts and help build Ukraine’s defense capacity to deter further Russian aggression.
…..
We are in close touch with our Ukrainian partners and NATO Allies to authorize and facilitate additional assistance to Ukraine, as well as employing all available security cooperation tools available to us. The Biden Administration has utilized Third Party Transfers authorized by the State Department allowing U.S. allies and partners, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, among others, to provide U.S. origin equipment from their inventories for use by Ukraine.
U.S. security assistance has enhanced the readiness, command and control, and situational awareness of Ukrainian forces through the provision of both non-lethal and lethal defensive items. This includes High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, secure communications, satellite imagery and analysis support, counter-battery radars, night vision devices and thermal scopes, sniper rifles, and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures. We have also provided advisory services to reduce corruption and increase transparency within the Ministry of Defense and to help develop a modern combat training center.
…..
The United States has $595.9 million in active government-to-government sales cases with Ukraine under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. FMS sales notified to Congress are listed on the DSCA website, and recent significant prior sales include: the 2018 sale of 210 Javelin anti-armor missiles, which has provided Ukraine with a critical anti-armor capability; the 2019 sale of 150 additional Javelins; and the 2020 Mark VI patrol boats sale. The Javelin sales were funded by a mixture of State Department FMF and Ukrainian national funds.
From 2015 through 2019, the United States also authorized the permanent export of over $287 million in defense articles to Ukraine via the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) process. The top categories of DCS to Ukraine during that period were Ammunition and Ordnance ($129 million); Fire Control, Laser, Imaging, and Guidance Equipment ($56 million); and Firearms and Related Articles ($54 million).
In addition, since 2017, the Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation has provided over $17 million in Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs support to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine’s Maritime Border Guard Detachment through the Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program. These efforts serve to protect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and to counter Russian aggression in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea through the development of small-boat interdiction and Rapid Response Units. EXBS assistance also bolsters Ukraine’s ability to effectively control, detect, and investigate trade in WMD, military, and other strategic technologies. This initiative supports building new operational, maintenance, and training facilities (including RRU stations in Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Odesa), as well as providing equipment, training, and mentoring. The effort not only replaces facilities lost during Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea, but provides modernized equipment, training, and procedures to enhance Maritime Guard operational capabilities. ‘
https://www.state.gov/u-s-security-cooperation-with-ukraine/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-poroshenko/ukraines-new-military-doctrine-names-russia-as-main-aggressor-idUSKCN0RO28F20150924
https://www.defensenews.com/home/2015/09/04/ukraines-new-military-doctrine-identifies-russia-as-aggressor-eyes-naval-acquisitions/
https://www.rt.com/news/314131-ukraine-russia-military-adversary/