“Where is God in all this?”
It is a question that we "enlightened" Westerners, and even secular Ukrainians, often ask when confronted with the sheer devastation of Russia’s invasion. It's not new. Atheists, Agnostics, and even the Devout in times of great distress (recall the Patriarch Job?) have asked for millennia, "if God exists and He is as loving as they all say, why is this happening?" So it's unsurprising that a wave of devastation and carnage on the scale unleashed in Ukraine (by supposedly "Christian" Russia, no-less) has prompted many to ask this question again. Yet signs of a higher hand may be closer than we think. For those willing to look beyond chance, this summer’s improbable events have piled up in numbers that make ‘coincidence’ hard to believe. Indeed, a pattern seems to emerge that suggests somebody higher up (and I mean a long way above Brussels or Washington) is acting on Ukraine's behalf, shielding Ukraine in ways both dramatic and subtle. Earlier in the summer, I spoke of the sudden and rather game-changing 8.8 magnitude Kamchatka Earthquake of 29 July. This Earthquake, one of the 6 largest ever recorded by Human scientists, laid waste to Russia's only nuclear submarine base. This, added to Ukraine's destruction of Russia's strategic bomber fleet and the repeated failures of Russian ICBMs, left a huge question mark over whether Russia even remained a nuclear-capable state. And it didn't stop there. After the 8.8 quake, the peninsula has been feeling aftershocks again and again, including one as recent as 2 days ago.
2025-07-20 (UTC) — M 7.4 — Eastern Kamchatka (foreshock) Time (UTC): 2025-07-20 06:49:04 UTC (USGS record). Notes: Large foreshock that preceded the late-July mainshock sequence.
2025-07-29 (UTC) — M 8.8 — Off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula (mainshock) Time (UTC): 2025-07-29 23:24:52 UTC (local PETT 2025-07-30 11:24:52). Notes: Megathrust mainshock (one of the largest quakes of 2025). Triggered tsunami watches and a very productive aftershock sequence. Primary source: USGS event page and USGS storymap.
2025-07-30 (UTC) — M 6.9 — Aftershock (early aftershock following the M8.8) Time (UTC): ~00:09 UTC on 2025-07-30 (reported in event summaries). Notes: One of the largest immediate aftershocks recorded in the two-day aftershock cluster.
2025-08-03 (UTC) — M 6.8 — Aftershock (Kamchatka area) Notes: A notable M6.8 aftershock in the weeks following the M8.8 mainshock (appears in USGS/wikipedia/NOAA summaries of the aftershock sequence).
2025-08-15 (UTC) — M 6.0 — Off the eastern coast of Kamchatka Notes: Reported by international seismic agencies (GFZ/Reuters/EMSC) as a separate strong event in mid-August.
2025-08-27 (UTC) — M 6.0 — Aftershock / nearby event Notes: USGS-registered M6.0 aftershock reported in late August as part of the continued sequence. See aftershock summaries and event lists.
2025-09-13 (UTC) M 7.4 - Off the east coast of Kamchatka, ~111-km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky; depth ~39 km. Aftershock of the 29 July M 8.8 event.
[EDIT, 7 days after original publication: 2025-09-18 M 7.8 Aftershock, 127 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia]
Notice the magnitude of these "minor" aftershocks is all in the 6.0 - 7.5 range. For perspective, here is what one, single, magnitude 6.4 earthquake did to Tainan, Taiwan just a few years ago.
And this is equal to roughly the average magnitude of the five aftershocks that have struck the Kamchatka Peninsula since the main quake on 29 July. And of course, this does not even consider the additional damage done by subsequent (and likely related) volcanic activity from the nearby stratovolcano. And again, this just happens to be right in the vicinity of Russia's only Pacific nuclear submarine base. Almost as if it was deliberately targeted. Hmm... Of course, the evidence of Divine Providence is not found only in destruction. It's even more apparent in an instance where there should have been devastation and wasn't. On September 9, Ukraine's Hall of Cabinet Ministers (essentially the heart of its government) was struck by a Russian weapon. Kyiv's interceptor systems, which have proven stunningly effective against the hundreds upon hundreds of drones that bombard the city each night, failed, and one got through at the worst possible site. The building was badly damaged, and many took it as a sign that Ukraine's fortunes were turning. Worse still, it was not a drone that got through. It was an Iskander-K cruise missile. But here's the fun part. The warhead didn't detonate. Yes—the upper floors were wrecked by the projectile’s sheer mass and speed. Fires broke out as some rocket fuel ignited. But had the warhead detonated, the entire building would have been destroyed. Let's recap that. Against all odds, Ukraine's interceptors failed in their point of densest concentration; the heart of the capital. Against all odds, that "once" happened to be the time that the projectile was targeting their most vital government building. Against all odds, the projectile they missed just happened to be one of the largest and easiest targets, a cruise missile that can be tracked with ease by its heat signature. And then, against all odds, the missile, once it hit, failed to detonate. That's not Western work, folks. Western tech is mostly pretty good at shooting down most of Russia's missiles, most of the time. But stopping one from detonating altogether when those interceptors fail? We don't have a countermeasure that does that. That wasn't us. Russia has been rather fond of claiming that the only reason Ukraine has held its own against them is because of Western support. Well, notwithstanding the fact that there has barely even been any Western support for the past year and a half, it also must be pointed out that I don't know a Western weapon that causes record-setting earthquakes with city-destroying aftershocks, or one that miraculously turns missiles into duds when it can't shoot them down. If this was the work of a "foreign power backing Ukraine," then Russia has bigger enemies than they dare contemplate. Somebody has indeed got Ukraine's back, and that Somebody is a lot bigger and more powerful than "ThE wEsT," whatever bloc that is supposed to be this week. So then, this begs the question. "If the Almighty Himself is interceding for Ukraine, why doesn't He just swat Russia now?!" Well first off, He kind of is (I mean, look at the place; they picked a fight with a country a fifth of their size nearly four years ago and today they have to hide their own bombers thousands of kilometers East of that country to keep them from getting wasted, while oil refineries all over Russia are getting lit up like the fourth of July). But to answer the question, well... ...if He follows the Old Testament pattern, what He's waiting for is recognition. Throughout the Books of the Prophets, we read again and again where Jehovah decimated Israel's enemies in ways no Earthly power could claim credit for. And in every case, the explanation was "I did it this way so you'd know it was Me and turn back to Me;" to make them commemorate Him, and to make them ask Him for help.
The God whose Anointed Messiah said "suffer the little children to come unto me" cannot be happy with Russia's constant assaults on schools. The God who said through His prophets "thus have I commanded: do justice to the widow and the captive, and have compassion upon the orphan," cannot be happy with Russia turning women into widows by torturing captives who fought with greater valor than any Russian will ever possess, and slaughtering the orphans they have made through their "Human Safaris." There's no spin that can be put on this that makes Russia anything other than the villain. He's waiting, eager for a chance, for any excuse to step in and say "I wondered when you would ask." And He's already rolling up His sleeves, showing off how eager He is. Who do you think gives Ukrainian defenders the skill, the courage and the technical aptitude they've dazzled the world with? Who do you think keeps throwing the Russian Army into its typical, habitual state of disarray? Ukraine has a proven ally that makes the US and EU combined look like chumps, and He's pounding His fists together and licking His lips, saying "just say when, folks." All He is looking for, is for Ukraine to give Him some credit.
For decades, Ukrainians have grown up knowing the motto Слава Україні! — Героям слава! (Glory to Ukraine! - To the heroes, glory!) After this war, perhaps it's time for it to be Слава героям України — і Богу, найвища слава! — І Богу, найвища слава! (Glory to the Heroes of Ukraine! - To God, the Highest Glory!)