On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, firing missiles at most parts of the country simultaneously with the ground offensive. Since that day, the war has claimed the lives of thousands of people, leaving millions under bombardment to flee their homes and go abroad to save the lives of themselves and their children. Some of us faced the horror of war for the first time, others were forced to flee again. 

Since the day of the attack, Russian plan to seize Kyiv in a few days and change the leadership of our state failed. Russia has met resistance it has never seen — not only from the Armed Forces, but by the entire nation. Realizing its defeat, the occupiers have focused on missiles and airstrikes on peaceful cities. Russians mostly destroy schools, kindergartens, maternity hospitals, hospitals, and theaters.

As of March 23:

• 121 children had been killed and at least 167 wounded
• damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure reached at least 1.8 trillion UAH ($ 62.6 billion)
• more than 400 educational institutions, at least 36 health facilities, 1,600 homes, 26 factories and warehouses, 15 airports, 6 thermal power plants, and hydroelectric power plants have been damaged, destroyed, or seized
• about 15 600 Russian occupants were killed and about 30-45 000 were wounded 
• Russia struck 291 missiles at facilities in Ukraine, used 459 missiles on land, sea and air bases, and conducted 1,403 air raids
• more than 90 monuments of cultural heritage were destroyed, ensembles of the cities of Chernihiv and Kharkiv were destroyed
• the occupiers ban Ukrainian literature in the temporarily occupied territories. Namely, books on the history of Ukraine are confiscated from libraries.
• Ukrainian city of Mariupol turned into hell for its inhabitants due to the siege and constant attacks by Russian troops — there are 0 surviving buildings and at least 2.4 thousand civilian casualties
• more than 3.5 million people left Ukraine (UN estimates). Another 12 million Ukrainians, according to the President’s Office, have been forced to flee their homes and are considered internally displaced (the UN estimates their number at 6.5 million).

Our team urges you to keep fighting together with the Ukrainian people:

• Read and share verified information about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Ukraine UA is an official information platform about the war in Ukraine: https://war.ukraine.ua
• Donate funds to support the Ukrainians in this fight and encourage your family, friends and networks to do so: 
• Повернись живим a charity that has effectively raised over USD 21.5 million for the army and humanitarian needs since the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014 – https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate/. 
• a special account created recently by the National Bank of Ukraine: https://bank.gov.ua/en/. All funds accumulated on this account will be used solely to procure supplies and otherwise support the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• Publish posts on your personal and institutional social media pages to condemn the Russian aggression and support Ukraine using #StandWithUkraine, #StopRussianAggression, and any of the images created by the Ukrainian activists.
• Boycott Russian cultural activities. Russia has been using its ‘great culture’ to justify, downplay and steer public attention away from its countless war crimes, acts of aggression, violation of human rights and international law. You can make a huge difference by stripping Russia of this leverage, regardless of where you work.
• We ask you to suspend all your projects that involve Russian institutions and individuals and not engage in any cooperation with Russian culture or education sector. Please make sure you communicate your decision publicly and issue a formal statement outlining your decision. You may use the hashtag #boycottRussia, along with #StandWithUkraine, #StopRussianAggression. 

Ukrainians will fight until we win. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!

The Ukrainian Institute team