Last night, Russia continued to launch its destructive assaults on Ukraine. More than 600 drones and 70 cruise and ballistic missiles tore across the country. By morning, Kyiv was choked with acrid smoke, and at least five people had been killed with 29 wounded — among them, a pregnant woman and two children, aged five and six. These were not strikes on the battlefield. They were strikes on homes, on memory, on identity, on innocent civilian lives.
The targets tell the story. Following a drone strike, fire engulfed the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra — a 1000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage monastery, one of the oldest cradles of Christianity in the world.
The Mystetskyi Arsenal, one of Ukraine’s foremost art museums, burned for hours as crews fought to save it. At the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio, flames consumed the largest and oldest costume collection in the country. Wardrobes from landmark Ukrainian films, gone in a night. Even Nova Poshta’s most modern postal terminal, the first automated facility of its kind in Ukraine, was hit. Churches, museums, cinema, the ordinary machinery of civilian life — all marked for destruction.
The cruelty reached its sharpest point in Kharkiv. Firefighters arrived to battle a blaze caused by one strike, while a second strike was planned for their arrival on the scene. Five rescue workers were killed and at least five more wounded — heroes who ran toward the danger to save strangers, struck down for the act of helping.
The blows landed far beyond what the headlines show: a drone slammed into a high-rise in the centre of Sumy, wounding civilians, while Dnipro saw a college destroyed and the windows of a school and a cultural centre blown out. Behind each of these headlines is a human being whose world changed overnight.
These are the people at the heart of CUF’s mission. The historian Timothy Snyder, writing on Ukraine this week, captured what is truly at stake: “By resisting Russia, Ukrainians are defending what is perhaps most basic about decent political life: the idea that people should be who they choose to be, not whom they are forced to become … it is worth taking risks for the dignity of being human.”
The Canada-Ukraine Foundation has been responding since the beginning of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine — funding emergency medical care, supporting first responders, and standing with the families whose lives were shattered overnight. They cannot wait, and neither can we.
BEHIND EVERY HEADLINE IS A STORY OF FAITH
Please donate today. Every gift becomes shelter, treatment, and dignity. Stand with Ukraine as it defends its homes, its faith, and its history.
To donate using AMEX, PayPal, or Google Pay, please visit our CanadaHelps page.
About the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF)
Founded in 1995, CUF has a strong track record of providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in the areas of healthcare, education and civil society. CUF collaborates with aid providers in Ukraine, Canada, and beyond to maximize impact and cost-effectiveness of your support.