The United Nations reports that July was the deadliest month for Ukraine's civilians since the first weeks of the war: 437 people were killed and more than 2,600 wounded as strikes on towns and cities intensified. In recent days a young mother and her nine-year-old son died when drones struck their home in the Sumy region, and energy facilities have been hit repeatedly as winter approaches. Behind every number is a family. In more than four years of war, nearly 17,000 civilians have lost their lives, among them over 800 children. We pray for the bereaved and the wounded, for those who pull neighbours from the rubble and mend the power lines, and for all who genuinely labour for peace. May quiet nights return to every city of Ukraine.