Not Normal, Not Acceptable

We are now approaching 130 days since Russia launched its full scale war to try to wipe Ukraine off the map. But after 130 days, Ukraine still stands. The losses have been terrible, but Ukraine still stands. We are now in a time where the rest of the world might start looking the other way, or be lulled into thinking this is a new normal, that “wars happen” and indiscriminate rocket and artillery attacks on civilian homes, apartment blocks, hospitals, and shopping malls is somehow acceptable. It’s not. These are war crimes, and Russia thinks that the rest of the world isn’t serious, won’t really care enough, and will soon get bored and tired with this war, and that we will learn to accept it. That terrorism is somehow “normal.”

But it’s not normal, and it’s not acceptable.

Already back in May, the World Health Organization had verified 200 attacks on health care facilities in Ukraine since the war began in February. These are attacks on hospitals, clinics, outpatient offices. These are war crimes. Not normal, and not acceptable.

Last week our dear friends at the 5th Children’s Neurologic Hospital in Kharkiv had Russian rockets land in their neighborhood, less than a kilometer away. The hospital lost electricity for a period of time.

“This is what landed a kilometer from us. The power was knocked out (( but came back on Thank God”

This week, Russian rockets landed closer. Shrapnel fell 15 meters from the hospital building. Children and their families are present and actively receiving treatment at that hospital. The buildings are clearly marked as belonging to a hospital. But we understand that for Russia, this very fact makes hospitals a target of terror. Not normal, and not acceptable.

“Shrapnel that landed in our yard.” 15 meters from a working children’s hospital.

This week a Russian missile hit a busy shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk during business hours. Twenty people were killed, 59 injured with serious burns, and the toll could have been worse had people not taken shelter when the air raid sirens sounded. For those of you who haven’t seen the video, it’s important to watch the moment the missile hits this obviously civilian target. This is what the “Russian World” offers us: Blatant acts of terrorism. Not normal, not acceptable.

In response to the Kremenchuk attack we are sending $2000 to the Future For Ukraine Foundation to pay for burn treatment supplies and external bone fixation devices, that will help provide care for those injured in this attack.

What will be the response of world leaders to Russian terror?

We are still accepting donations.

We are collecting monetary donations to support the purchase of medical supplies and non-controlled substance medications now for Ukrainian hospitals. Go to our fundraising page to contribute.

We are a non-profit organized under the Rochester Regional Health Foundations.